College Daze
by Don't Preach
Summary: Reader Request for 143yaoifangirl: Four young men with wounded hearts, one drunken college party. Deep regrets all around. Takano, Yokozawa, Hiroki, Akihiko... Hiroki X Takano pairing. Rated M.
1. Arrival

**Chapter 1: Arrival**

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><p><em>This story was done for a reader request. 143yaoifangirl sent in the suggestion of a Hiroki and Takano pairing and I thought "Damn… that's a hot idea…" This is not PWP, however. I don't write like that. But this piece does have a significant sex scene between Hiroki and Takano.<em>

_In my correspondence with 143yaoifangirl, it was arrived at, that for a switch, Takano would end up playing uke to Hiroki's seme. (So, if you can't handle versatility, or have issues with antics outside your OTP, you have been warned.)_

_The premise is that it takes place in college before either Hiroki or Takano has their permanent partner and their encounter is a onetime thing... This story takes place during Takano's lost years when he's still reeling from Oda/Onodera's disappearance. Meanwhile, Hiroki is acting out in that "sordid" way mentioned in the Shinoda chapter as a means of dealing with his longings for Akihiko. I also have Takahashi Takahiro attending "M" University in this piece. I know in the manga he wasn't able to go, but in my version he was accepted and started his first semester and then had to withdraw when his parents died and he became responsible for his little brother, Misaki.  
><em>

_Hope you like it…. Also, please excuse the poor title. While the premise inspired me, the title muse abandoned me._

_I hope you will consider dropping a review even if you're encountering this story long after its completion._

_Don't Preach/Daniel Lazerus_

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><p><strong>Disclaimer: I do not own Junjou Romantica or Sekai ichi Hatsukoi or any of their characters.<strong>

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><p><strong>College Daze<strong>

**Chapter One: Arrival**

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><p>Hiroki got out of Akihiko's car and slammed the door just hard enough to let his best friend know that he was not pleased. Akihiko's pale eyes narrowed slightly at the sound. The car was brand new, just purchased with the first allowance from the trust his grandfather in England had set up for him.<p>

Looking over and noting Akihiko's disapproving stare, Hiroki dropped his eyes; a slight blush rose in his cheeks. His first inclination was to apologize but what came out instead was: "I still don't see why you had to choose red, Akihiko. It's so obvious."

Akihiko pulled a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and tapped one out. "I chose it because it pleased me, Hiroki. Nothing wrong with a a guy getting what he wants… You should try it some time."

Hiroki felt his cheeks grow even hotter at these words.

_If only I could_.

The problem was, however, that what he really wanted, more than anything, was Akihiko. Even now his fingers twitched reflexively, how they longed to be traveling over the contours of his best friend's lean, muscular body.

_No way in hell that's happening._

Slipping his traitorous hands into his pockets, Hiroki raised his head. Akihiko had come around and was now leaning slightly on the side of the car smoking his cigarette.

_He looks so god damn gorgeous._

Raw Sensuality and a carefully cultivated nonchalance radiated like a halo from Akihiko. Hiroki allowed himself the exquisite torture of at least allowing his eyes to roam over his friend. He started with Akihiko's extraordinary hair, his bangs slightly lifting in the cool spring evening breeze.

If one was inclined to ask him, Hiroki could name the exact day that Akihiko's thick mane had begun slipping from the white-gold of their childhood into the rich silver tones it now carried. It was just one entry in his extensive and ongoing silent cataloging of his unrequited.

Hiroki's dark gaze drifted down over Akihiko's beautiful face, the thick lashes, amazing purple-hued gaze, and high cheekbones. His eyes traced the sensual mouth that he'd so often imagined covering his own lips or, if he was feeling more sordid, which occurred far more often than he'd ever admit, his cock. Hiroki felt both his heart and his groin pulse painfully at this thought.

In his tailored clothes, Akihiko always looked impeccable. Even when attempting to look casual, his aristocratic upbringing bled through. It was something the young author couldn't hide any more than he could his peculiar genius. But Hiroki knew too that the way Akihiko dressed was part of his personal armor, just as he was also aware that so was the gaudy color of the car he had just bought.

However, this knowledge did little to diminish the effect Akihiko had on him. Regardless of whatever subconscious motives dictated Akihiko's choices, the maddening fact remained that he wore everything well.

Hiroki pushed his hands deeper into his pockets. Despite the fact they had been raised in the same social circles, he always felt so shabby standing next Akihiko.

"Tell me again what we're doing here?" he asked petulantly, though well aware of the answer.

"Takahiro invited us to join him at this party." Akihiko pushed himself up off of the car.

"You know, Old Man, you didn't have to come if you didn't want to. I know how much you hate social events like this."

"You hate these things just as much as I do…" Hiroki fired back.

"Ah, yes, but one has a duty to support his friends. Don't you think?" Though his tone was slightly bored, Akihiko's usually stoic face had begun glowing at the thought of Takahashi Takahiro.

The _Economics Club_ at "M" University had a staunch reputation of proudly being an "elite" network, dominated by the sons of CEOs, directors and Takahiro had been accepted into their ranks was quite a coup for the average youth. Tonight the club was having its celebratory party, welcoming its newest members, and their inductees had been encouraged to invite guests.

Hiroki had been with Akihiko when Takahiro had come to extend the invitation and knew he'd only been invited out of Takahashi's unbearable sense of politeness.

_Fucking Takahiro!_

Falling into step alongside Akihiko, Hiroki started towards the towering apartment building.

The party was being held in the swank apartment of the club's president, a lavish three-bedroom suite in a fashionable high-rise. As they drew nearer to the complex, Hiroki's attention was blessedly diverted from his heartache for a moment. His gaydar immediately blipped as they passed by two striking, dark-haired youths loitering at the entrance he and Akihiko were approaching. Both young men were smoking.

Though equally handsome, Hiroki noticed one of the young men in particular. He had shaggy black hair and warm amber eyes that glinted through the thin-framed glasses he wore.

_I wish I looked half as good in my specs._

Hiroki had moved on to thinking of how utterly unfair it was that some people got to be so damn tall, when the fellow standing next to the subject of his appraisal raised his eyes and caught his gaze.

Though the guy's face did not alter from the bored scowl it was wearing, steel gray eyes told a whole other story: _he's taken,_ was their clear communication.

Holding the other's glare just long enough to let him know he was not easily threatened, Hiroki at last looked away and continued to follow Akihiko into the building.

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><p>"Tell me again why we're here, Masamune," Yokozawa growled around his cigarette as his dark eyes followed the brunet who had been obviously checking his friend out. He watched the man disappear into the building.<p>

"Free liquor... and not the cheap shit you've been bringing over." Takano stubbed his smoke into the outside ashtray.

"Do you even know anyone at this party?"

Though he had a reputation for being a bit of a bull, Yokozawa also had a strong sense of manners. Crashing someone's event particularly at a swank place like this made him uneasy. Not to mention that although his own consumption of alcohol was notably high, and perhaps more frequent than it should be, he had been harboring considerable concern lately about Takano's increasing alcoholic intake.

"Well, a friend of one of the members told me about it… I consider that practically an invitation."

Takano slipped his glasses off and into his pocket as he said this. He'd donned them to study the GPS in his phone when they were trying earlier to determine the party's exact location As he took off his glasses, a wisp of it caught on the breeze and was lifted up off his forehead further disrupting his already handsomely disheveled hair .

Seeing this, Yokozawa tightened his grip on his dwindling cigarette and fisted the hand currently in his jacket pocket. It was all he could do not to reach up and gently brush the stray strand down. Smoothing things out, trying to keep Takano together, had become his full time job of late. And as the weight of the responsibility he felt for his heart-broken friend increased, in equal measure so did his love.

Instead of touching Takano, Yokozawa snorted as he stubbed out his fag. "I can't believe you pulled me into doing something so reckless, Masamune." He hardened his gray eyes into an angry glare.

Takano stared easily back. He'd known Yokozawa long enough his friend's gruff exterior didn't fool him in the least.

"Why think of it as reckless when you can think of it as an adventure instead?" Takano ended this challenge with a chuckle, knowing that Yokozawa would never back down from a charge.

"Besides," he added with considerably less humor. "It's a much needed diversion."

Yokozawa frowned. The pain in Takano's eyes that he'd hoped his care had begun to finally extinguish had rekindled and he realized with a renewed sense of loss that, despite all his best efforts, Takano's torment was burning fever-bright again tonight.

"I know I am going to regret this." Yokozawa sighed, sticking his empty hand into his jacket pocket. "I swear, Masamune, first sign of trouble we're leaving and if you get too drunk, I'm not carrying your ass home again like last time… Got it?" His voice was as brusque as his heart was tender.

Takano clapped his arm around his shoulder and Yokozawa's breath caught at the familiar touch.

"What would I do without my enforcer?" Takano's laugh was heartfelt this time, the heavy weight in his voice momentarily lifted.

Shaking his shoulders, Yokozawa stretched out his elbows pushing Takano away. "Get off, idiot!" he growled, though what he really wanted more than anything was to linger under the lean arm that had just held him. It pained Yokozawa to observe this rough rejection didn't faze Takano in the least.

Instead, Takano plunged on determinedly ahead of his scowling friend. Pushing open the door into the building, he turned back over his shoulder. "Just pretend like you belong here, Takafumi, that's the key to a crasher's success."

"I'm not sure how successful I really want us to be." Still, despite the deep sigh he exhaled, Yokozawa squared his shoulders and followed Takano into the building.

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><p><strong>Thank you for reading…<strong>


	2. Revelations

**College Daze**

**Chapter Two: Revelations**

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><p>As soon as they entered the party, Akihiko and Hiroki split up: Akihiko went looking for Takahiro and Hiroki went looking for alcohol.<p>

Despite the fact the apartment was relatively crowded, Hiroki made his way to his goal easily. The makeshift bar was located at a counter dividing the kitchen from the spacious main room and had an actual bartender manning it.

While he waited for his drink, he glanced around and noticed several uniformed servers bearing trays of various trifles. Leaning back against the counter, Hiroki's keen eyes took everything in.

_Quite a swank affair for a college student._

He downed his first drink quickly trying to drown his bitter musing and reflected on his own circumstances while he waited on his second.

Despite the wealth of his upbringing, he was living more than modestly at the moment, paying for his schooling and his apartment from a small trust an uncle had left for him. Hiroki felt very fortunate in this, however, as his father had cut him off financially immediately following high school because he didn't agree with his life choices.

Hiroki received his refilled glass and consumed his second drink more slowly as he ruminated.

While he had never been particularly overt, his father had suspected suspected his nature long before Hiroki had even ever considered putting words together to describe his inclinations. But, although his father knew, Hiroki hadn't been cut off because he was gay.

Though the senior Kamijou wasn't pleased about it, he'd grudgingly accepted his son's sexuality. Hiroki's father's younger brother (the one who had left him the trust) had been gay too, after all. It appeared this was why his uncle had made him the beneficiary of his estate: another man who recognized his nature before Hiroki ever confirmed it.

No, the reason his father had cut his only child off was because Hiroki was determined to pursue literature and not business. That Hiroki would not provide the Kamijou clan with a successor, Kamijou Hiromasa had reluctantly conceded. While disappointed, he took comfort in the fact there were other more prolific Kamijou branches bursting with fruit from the family tree. What the Hiromasa could not make peace with, however, was that his only son also had no desire to work for the family company.

If Hiroki had been able to swallow his pride and set his passion to the side, make literature a hobby rather than some yet undetermined vocation, he knew he could have found himself with a similar setup as the one he now stood in. However, just the thought of living his life in corporate society made Hiroki's head ache immediately and sent a sick shiver coursing down his spine.

Diverting from this depressing line of thought, Hiroki felt his eyes magnetically drawn across the room to where Akihiko was now engaged in a lively conversation with the Takahashi boy, Takahiro. This shift in melancholic focus only exacerbated the ache in his chest.

_So, he found him. Damn._

Hiroki watched and felt the bright-skinned asp of envy snake through his gut and sink its venomous fangs into his heart as Akihiko laughed at something Takahiro said.

Then Akihiko brought out _that_ smile: the one that made Hiroki's heart stop and his cock start, the one his unrequited seemed to reserve only for Takahiro.

Tipping his glass back, Hiroki downed the last of the rich scotch he'd been served. He felt the slow burn of the alcohol as it scorched down his throat. He knew he was being reckless consuming so much in such a short time: he'd been so immersed in his studies that day that he'd forgotten to eat again. It was a bad habit he was forming, now that he was on his own and out from under his mother's watchful eye.

He set his glass down on the bar once more and watched as the bartender refilled it without raising an eyebrow at his rapid consumption. Then Hiroki turned back to observe Akihiko some more. This time nursing his drink with the same painful deliberation he nursed his unreturned love.

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><p>"You better wipe that guilty face off, Yokozawa," Takano chided as he took off his shoes in the entry and handed his coat to the attendant who exchanged the jacket for a pair of guest slippers. "Unless you want us getting thrown out before we even get into the main room."<p>

"This is the only face I have, Masamune."

Yokozawa muttered under his breath. "It might be better anyway if we got kicked out now and saved the embarrassment of having it happen later."

Takano heard these last words despite the low volume but chose to ignore them. He gave a low whistle as they stepped into the main room. He helped himself to a hors d' oeuvre from a passing tray. "Some digs, eh?" he said lightly as he popped the tidbit into his mouth.

Yokozawa frowned.

Albeit dysfunctional, Takano had been raised in a family of means, while his own upbringing had been far more humble. Though he hid it well, such a plush environment made Yokozawa uneasy. Rather than admit any of this, however, he turned his discomfort back on Takano.

"Tell me again how many beers you had before I came to pick you up?"

Takano glanced back at his friend but said nothing as they moved further into the room. Then he turned away again and did his usual quick scan of his surroundings.

Yokozawa gritted his teeth: it was the same no matter where they went.

_Always looking, on the off chance that "He" might be here somewhere._

"You're such a good mama, Takafumi, always looking out for me." Takano purposely did not look at his sober-eyed chaperone. His tone was teasing. "That's why Sorata loves you so much, you know? He can tell a soft touch when he sees it."

Grinning, Takano left his fuming chaperone standing alone and moved out into the crowd to mingle.

Observing how his friend and self-designated charge immediately turned on his charm, Yokozawa marveled as Takano blended in effortlessly with the other students, the invited party-goers quickly pooling around him. It had been long-evident to Yokozawa that when he wasn't so broken, Masamune was a natural leader. With his good looks and forceful personality, when he wanted to be pleasant, people were drawn to Takano like moths to a flame.

_If they only knew the bite beneath that bright smile..._

Just as easily as he could be charming, Takano could be hard and abrasive too and both of these were aspects he often displayed. However, there was another side of Takano, one seldom revealed, that was remarkably tender. Yokozawa felt privileged that Takano had shared this with him once or twice. Knowing that part of his unrequited only made his anger burn all that brighter for the stupid boy who'd broken Masamune's heart.

As for himself, while he had worked hard to cultivate a presentable demeanor and he could pull that mask on in a pinch, he had always been too serious and bad tempered to be popular. Not that he minded that much. Though Yokozawa wouldn't have ever openly admitted it; it was easier for him to be feared than to be liked. Not that he didn't desire the later, but when people drew back or were slightly afraid of him, in his opinion, it made things much less complicated.

Still, as always, Yokozawa was here tonight for Takano, so he tried to adjust his expression as he shoved his hands into his pockets and strode out into the party to join his oblivious ward.

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><p>Lost in thought, Hiorki's brow furrowed as he watched Akihiko lean over to straighten a blushing Takahashi's tie. He shook his head at how careless Akihiko was sometimes with his displays of affection.<p>

_Doesn't the idiot know how easily a simple action can be misconstrued or what difficulties might arise if such a moment is observed by the wrong person?_

"Oi, Kamijou! Is that you?"

Looking up, Hiroki saw the familiar face of Kudo Ryuu. Kudo was a year older and had been on the kendo team with him in high school. Their fathers were business associates as well, so growing up, he had spent numerous hours with Kudo at various social business functions.

Kudo was a hale and hearty youth. Last that Hiroki had heard, he was majoring in Finance and, at nineteen, already engaged to a girl from a respected and prominent family. But then as long as Hiroki had known him, Kudo had been the epitome of a good son. In this, Kudo had always secretly pissed him off.

"Kudo-san." Hiroki raised his glass in salutation. He could feel the alcohol even now softening his edges.

"Haven't seen you for a while, Kamijou-kun," Kudo greeted. "I'm surprised to see you here amongst all these business types. From what my mother told me it sounded as though these days you've chosen _the path less taken_."

Hiroki's eyes narrowed slightly as he looked at the young man in front of him. Despite the friendly tone, if it hadn't been for the context of the comment, he would have questioned whether Kudo was talking about his chosen course of study or his orientation.

"I'm here for Takahashi-san."

Kudo's expression darkened perceptibly. "You're a friend of his then?"

"Not really." Hiroki sighed, suddenly realizing that the drinks he'd consumed were making him more honest already. He motioned over towards Akihiko, who was standing with a few other young men with old money polish, while Takahiro gaped on in open admiration.

"Still hanging around with that weird kid, Usami, eh?" Kudo's tone had grown considerably colder since their initial greeting. Hiroki realized suddenly that the stalwart Finance major had been drinking too and as a result his usually slick veneer was a bit thin.

Despite the fact he didn't wish to start a quarrel, Hiroki found himself immediately bristling at the unkind designation of Akihiko. In a voice equally cool he replied, "I'll have you know that 'weird kid' is already a published author and his first novel has recently been nominated for several awards."

Kudo snorted at this. "Yeah, well, I wonder if he wasn't an Usami, if he would have found his way to success quite so easily."

Hiroki blanched at these rude words, but before he could offer a heated defense on the merits of Akihiko's work, Kudo continued.

"And the Usami name doesn't just work for family apparently."

Seeing the confused look on Hiroki's face, Kudo sneered. "You know, the president of the club got a call from the president of Usami Corp. How else do you think that a nobody like Takahashi would have been invited to join?"

"When did this happen?" Hiroki's anger at Kudo was extinguished almost immediately by this bit of new information.

"I don't know. Back a few months ago at the start of the semester, I guess."

As soon as the signifance of this fully sunk in, Hiroki lifted his glass and downed its contents in a few rapid chugs. He set it down to be filled again and as soon as the glass was refilled, picked it up and pushed himself away from the counter.

"I have to go, Kudo-san. Good to see you." Hiroki disregarded Kudo's own questioning expression as he headed off into the crowd of upper-class students milling around the apartment's main room.

He was so lost in his thoughts he almost ran into another partygoer.

"Hey, watch where you're going, idiot!" a deep voice barked.

Looking up in surprise, Hiroki's brow furrowed immediately and he blushed when he realized he'd just bumped into the possessive gray-eyed youth who'd been smoking outside the building.

"Sorry, my mistake," He offered politely with a slight bow.

"You should be! How much sense does it take to look where you're going?" Yokozawa snapped back.

Hiroki scowled fiercely. He'd apologized and they hadn't actually collided. His liquor-loosed tongue moved before he could stop it.

"What in the hell's your problem?"

The man Hiroki had been admiring outside the building now stood beside his antagonist.

Takano snorted loudly and began to chuckle at this fiery retort. Both Hiroki and Yokozawa stared, startled by his unexpected outburst.

Looking at Hiroki, Takano's hard eyes momentarily softened. The fierce brunet was taller and broader than Oda* had been, but his build was similar enough. And though their eye coloring was markedly different, their hair coloring was separated by just shades.

There was something in the man's scowl, however, his easy blush, and in his defensive display of anger in a situation where he was definitely outmatched that made Takano's heart ache with nostalgia.

Takano could see Yokozawa bristling dangerously. It almost seemed as though there was more to Takafumi's anger than the simple near collision.

"Come on, Yokozawa." He gave a light pull to his friend's arm. "I wanted a drink, not a brawl!"

Looking between the two men for a moment, it was as if Yokozawa was trying to decide which battle he wanted to engage in the most. When he saw the determination in Hiroki's gaze he decided to allow Takano to draw him away. He gave Hiroki a cold, dismissive glare and followed Takano to the bar.

Hiroki drew himself up, despite how disconcerted he felt. But the moment the two men were swallowed by the party's throng, he disappeared to find a quiet corner where he could think more clearly.

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><p>From the bar Takano turned and watched Hiroki fade into the mass of chatting students. Seeing his response to Yokozawa had stirred him greatly. As he waited for his drink order to be filled, Takano reflected once again on his short but powerful relationship with the green-eyed boy who had stolen his heart.<p>

A bitter smile twisted his lips as he remembered how awkward Oda had seemed at first. But after they had been together for even just a short time, Takano quickly learned his shy boy had quite the temper and would show it when provoked, not to mention how delightfully he blushed whenever he was teased.

Fueling his already buzzed state with a few more hard swallows of good liquor, Takano felt a tug of desire and a sense of intrigue he'd not had for ages.

_Not love…_ He had determined he would never love anyone else than Oda.

While Takano was well aware that any real similarities between the man Yokozawa had almost bumped into and Oda was just an illusion fabricated by his wounded psyche…

_Still..._

Golden eyes scanned the room and he finally located the brunet again. The guy had tucked himself into a corner and was standing there with and expression of sorrowful contemplation Takano knew all too well. He'd seen it enough times on his own face reflected in train windows or those of shops he was passing, and in the mirror almost every morning when he first greeted himself.

Pushing himself away from the bar after watching the object of his current fancy through two quickly downed drinks, holding his third, Takano headed out across the floor.

He turned when he felt a hard grip on his arm and found himself staring into Yokozawa's turbulent gaze.

"Where are you going, Masamune?" Yokozawa had been studying Takano closely and already knew exactly where his friend was headed.

Takano shook the restraining hand off. "I am going to mingle."

When Yokozawa started to follow him out onto the floor, Takano turned back again sharply.

"Don't follow me, Yokozawa. Just let me be on my own for a bit. You act like we're joined at the god damn hip sometimes!"

Yokozawa's eyes widened initially, but just as quickly they narrowed as he regained his trademark scowl.

"Don't do this, Masamune." Though he growled this Yokozawa's tone was a tender mix of pleading and warning.

Takano just stared at him angrily.

Seeing that his plea fell on deaf ears Yokozawa shook his head. Despite how hard his heart pounded, his stomach ached, he withdrew. "I need another drink." He turned back towards the bar.

Takano watched his friend leave and felt a pang in his chest. He knew that Yokozawa cared about him.

_Too much sometimes_.

Seeing the barely perceptible slump in his friend's proud shoulders, Takano felt guilty, but not enough… "I'll catch up with you in just a bit." he kept his voice light as he spoke to Yokozawa's retreating form.

Yokozawa raised a tired hand in acknowledgment without looking back.

Takano sighed but still turned and headed off into the crowd towards Hiroki.

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><p><strong>OLD AN:<strong>

***Takano thought Ritsu's surname was Oda/Ada originally as that was the name Onodera wrote on his checkout cards at the library, which led to Takano not realizing Ritsu was his Ritsu when they met again and therefore getting ** off when Ritsu told him that he used a different name on the check out cards when they first got together...**

**This information was supplied by reader Lyrica Storm Wagner and it is why in this fic, because of the timeline, Takano is now referring to Onodera as Oda when he is thinking of him. The narrator will still refer to Onodera as Onodera, however. Thank you for the correction, dear reader. I count on you all to keep me honest.**

**Thank you all for the reviews and the support of this little angsty/lemony crossover. Hope you enjoyed this chapter and please review. Good or bad, I appreciate the feedback.**


	3. Chapter 3: Introductions

**College Daze**

**Chapter Three: Introductions**

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><p>Hiroki was lost in his troubled thoughts so he didn't immediately acknowledge the figure that sidled up next to him. Then he felt the man brush against him just slightly.<p>

Living in the crush of Tokyo, Hiroki was used to the press of people in stores, the train, on the streets, but outside of this he had a very strong sense of personal space and he found himself annoyed that at this moment some idiot was invading it.

The young scholar looked over and was stunned to find the tall youth he'd admired earlier that evening leaning against the wall alongside him, now sans his gray-eyed guard dog. Hiroki looked into the man's handsome face. There was something in the amber-eyed gaze that struck him as feline and slightly feral.

If he was honest with himself, he found the effect quite stirring.

In response to this, Hiroki scowled and shifted his body down the wall away from the man. He quickly realized to his chagrin, however, that now he'd backed himself almost into a corner. Thankfully, however, the other youth stayed where he was.

From his new location Hiroki watched curiously. His wall-bound companion said nothing, but after their eyes met again, he nodded before looking away. The man raised his glass to his sensual mouth while his bright eyes took in the events unfolding before him. "Takano," he said simply, still not looking back at Hiroki.

The party was getting into full swing now.

It took Hiroki a minute to realize that this was the dark youth's name. He wasn't quite sure how to respond to this peculiar introduction but after a moment he offered back with only a slight hesitance, "Kamijou."

"Ah, look, Kamijou-san, I wanted to come over here and apologize for my friend's rude manner. Yokozawa is a bit rough around the edges."

Hiroki's expression shifted from curiosity to something more guarded as he continued to study Takano. He wasn't stupid. While perhaps he didn't cut the figure Akihiko did, Hiroki understood, outside of his personality, he had a certain appeal. After all, he'd had his first experience of being cruised when he was fourteen and had done more than a bit of his own cruising since then.

Hiroki modeled Takano's behavior, looking away and out into the party.

"Your friend should apologize himself." Hiroki took another drink from his glass before adding, "though I don't believe that's entirely why you came over here."

Takano barked out a sharp laugh at Kamijou's growled parry. Laughing was an automatic response he had to things that made him uncomfortable, one that was so ingrained he wasn't even aware of it.

He turned and looked back at Hiroki appraisingly. He admired the slightly smaller man's straightforward response, not knowing it was primarily the result of the drinks Hiroki had consumed. Takano was pleased however, to note that despite Kamijou's snappy assertion, the brunet was also blushing.

"I suppose you're right… on both counts," he admitted, then he asked casually: "So, Kamijou-san, are you a student at 'M'?"

"T," Hiroki said tersely.

Takano's eyebrows rose. That meant that Kamijou was sharp with more than his tongue. He found his mind drawn inextricably back to the other brilliant brown-haired boy that he'd known. Wishing to clear the image of Oda from his mind Takano suddenly found that he wanted Kamijou to look at him again.

Hiroki didn't. Instead, he was now watching Akihiko across the room with particular intensity.

When the object of his interest failed to offer any additional small talk, Takano sighed.

"So what are you studying?"

"Literature," Hiroki said sullenly.

"Really? Me too." Takano hid his shock at the coincidence and kept his voice casual. "At 'M', I mean."

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><p>Across the room during a lull in an incredibly boring conversation on business that seemed to have the enthusiastic Takahiro completely enthralled, Akihiko made a quick scan of the party and noticed Hiroki speaking with one of the men they'd passed outside on their way into the building.<p>

Akihiko dropped his gaze and silently cursed. His own gaydar, though perhaps currently a bit more underutilized than Hiroki's, was equally acute. It troubled him that Hiroki was so active these days. Not that he didn't understand the raging fires of youthful sexuality, it was just that he wished Hiroki was a bit more discriminating.

In truth, there were times lately when Hiroki's actions struck the law student as almost desperate. And while Akihiko worried about his best friend's conduct in terms of physical health, considering both disease and danger, he also just couldn't understand why Hiroki didn't value himself more.

Akihiko expelled a measured breath.

He supposed that this judgment was a bit unfair. After all, it wasn't as though he was celibate. He too hated himself whenever the burn of his body got too bright for him to handle things "on his own" and he found he needed that specific friction of flesh that required another. It made him feel so disloyal to his love for Takahiro.

Rather than picking up men as Hiroki did, buying a body was how Akihiko compensated for this.

It wasn't as if he _needed_ to pay for sex: men had been pursuing him since he was a child (women too for that matter, though in a much more age appropriate manner). Doing things his way, paying well and never using the same person twice, reduced the act to a simple transaction where no emotions needed to be involved.

Besides, with the quality of the services he employed, he was assured cleanliness and the continuation of his own good health. And he could engage with males his age or slightly younger: Akihiko long ago had experienced more than his fill of older men's attentions.

In his transactions both participants got what they needed: his hormonal boil brought back down to a simmer, the other party monetary enrichment, and perhaps a measure of pleasure for both. The system, when it was properly employed, struck Akihiko as quite civilized and far less complicated than Hiroki's furious antics.

It also pleased Akihiko to feel assured of the discretion of his liaisons as well. None of his former lovers would ever approach him publicly as Hiroki's occasionally did. Akihiko frowned slightly, recalling the last time this happened when he and Hiroki had gone out drinking. Such scenes often lead to rather unpleasant commotions.

Still, the young aristocrat knew that Hiroki currently couldn't afford to use the exclusive "escort" services that he himself favored. So, he generally refrained from criticizing Hiroki's behavior. Especially now that his dearest friend was paying such a great price for being a man on his own. Besides, comments to his very private comrade would certainly be seen as invasive and Akihiko had no wish to say something that might unknowingly hurt Hiroki's tender pride or endanger their relationship.

Akihiko shifted from his troublesome thoughts about Hiroki and looked at his unrequited, basking in the pleasure Takahiro was getting from the evening's activities. This was one of the things Akihiko loved about him.

For Akihiko, this night was like hundreds of others in his life, but for his beloved, this experience was completely new and Takahiro, despite his best attempts to seem composed, glowed like a delighted child at being included in such an auspicious club. It was this innocence, this uncomplicated purity, which had first drawn Akihiko to him.

Living the incestuous and suffocating life of aristocracy had poisoned Akihiko early on and he saw Takahiro as his antidote. Every genuine smile, every look of wonder (both of which Takahiro seemed to possess in an endless supply) was a healing balm for his society-blighted soul.

In addition to this, Akihiko had spent his whole life being despised for various reasons; beginning from the time he was a small child. It wasn't until he'd gotten older he'd been able to realize the majority of this had been undeserved.

Takahiro was the only person in his life who seemed free from this particular inclination towards him. Akihiko felt that even Hiroki, though loyal to a fault, disliked him greatly at times. The thought then that Takahiro might ever decide to join with all the other significant people in his life in this response to him tormented Akihiko tremendously.

Considering this, he would have given up anything at this point if he thought it would make Takahiro happy, ensure a place in the other man's good graces. Even if this meant never telling Takahiro how he felt regardless of the pain it caused him. For this reason, Akihiko was determined to be content despite his heart's discomfort.

Akihiko had no sooner finished these thoughts than he looked up again and his eyes met Hiroki's from their various corners of the room. He gave his friend a nod of acknowledgement and then dropped his gaze. Akihiko took a cautious sip from his glass and then returned to conversing with the beaming Takahiro.

* * *

><p>Across the room Takano's sharp eyes had witnessed the two "T" students' exchange.<p>

"So are you with that guy?" He asked bluntly. Though noting the way the silver-haired youth was looking at the spectacled man beside him, he doubted it. The unconscious wince Kamijou evinced in response to his question confirmed Takano's suspicions much faster than Kamijou's words.

"We arrived together, that's it." Hiroki's voice was flat. He fought to keep any tone of longing from entering his voice.

"He looks somehow familiar," Takano mumbled.

"Well, if you have any interest in contemporary literature perhaps you've read his book." Hiroki still did not look at Takano.

"Ah, that's it, Usami Akihiko, The Moon Bleeds Night," Takano replied.

"I started it, but never finished it… Not that is wasn't profound, it was just too lonely and I found the prose to be… um… how do I say this… Somehow monochromatic. It lacked color."

Takano smirked as, at his comment, Kamijou suddenly looked at him sharply. He watched Hiroki's brow crease and his cheeks flush as the man considered how to respond.

"Well, everyone has their own tastes," Hiroki eventually replied. His eyes narrowed as he looked at Takano carefully again.

"And tell me, Kamijou-san, what are your tastes? I mean, are you more widely read than just this one author?" Takano's brow arched suggestively as he asked this. Hiroki's own brow furrowed further as he considered Takano's question. Both knew fully that Takano was not speaking about literature here.

Hiroki's gaze drifted back over to Akihiko. He was shocked to see Takano's protector amble over and slip easily into the crowd Akihiko was in. Soon Akihiko was chatting relatively amicably with Takano's guard.

"Within my preferred genre, my tastes are varied." The lie made Hiroki's tongue feel acidic.

Hiroki studied Yokozawa from across the room. Yokozawa was now fully engaged in a conversation with Akihiko. The tall bearish man, though still serious looking, was conducting himself quite genially. Hiroki's fiery stare shifted and fixed itself back on Takano.

"And you?"

"I tend to pick up whatever interests me." Takano held Hiroki's gaze. He was delighted to see a new flood of color fill Kamijou's alcohol-pinked cheeks.

Hiroki dropped his eyes and studied the bottom of his, once again, empty glass. "I need another drink." As soon as he uttered this, Takano downed the last of his own drink and then reached out and smoothly plucked the glass out of his hand, making sure their fingers brushed as he did.

"I'll get it. You wait here." Takano headed back out into the mob before Hiroki could protest.

* * *

><p>Though Yokozawa's attentions had been much more focused on Hiroki that evening, the first time he'd seen the literature student's companion, he thought the tall, pale youth looked familiar.<p>

It hadn't taken long after that for Yokozawa to realize he recognized Usami Akihiko from Marukawa. He had recently begun an internship there and had seen the man a few times on his errands to the literature division. He'd also read Usami's novel. It had moved him considerably and he had passed it along to Takano after he'd finished it.

Yokozawa had learned just the other day Usami was the charge of a young editor named Aikawa Eri. He'd gone out drinking with her for the first time about a week back.

Aikawa was pretty and very smart, and she had asked him so he'd agreed.

It turned out they'd had a great time talking publishing until Aikawa happened to mention Usami. After gushing rather profusely about the man's talents and then complaining about his difficult temperament she confided, "I so enjoy the company of gay men."

This was after more than a few drinks of course and Aikawa looked meaningfully at Yokozawa as she continued. "This way a woman gets the pleasure of masculine presence with none of the sexual tension that's so distracting."

Yokozawa was a good reader of people. This was one of the things that had already helped him get ahead of the other interns he'd started with. Still, he was shocked when he realized that the driven young editor beside him was actually including him amongst that "company" and that this designation was probably the reason she'd felt comfortable asking him out in the first place.

His first inclination was to vehemently deny, with a considerable amount of anger, that he was anything like her author. His second, was to ask her pointedly if she really thought he was gay and what he'd done to ever make her draw that conclusion. His third considered response involved pretending he didn't understand what she was saying and just remaining silent. Maybe even making a pass at her later to show Aikawa how wrong she was.

_But was she?_

Yokozawa didn't really know if he was gay, the only thing he was certain of without any doubt was that he loved Takano Masamune.

In the end, he opted for the third response, forgoing the pass, because (or so he'd told himself at the time) he enjoyed Aikawa's company and didn't want to embarrass her. And he realized he could rather use a friend right now, or at least a friend who wasn't as intent on self-destruction as Takano seemed to be.

After he'd shaken his head to clear these memories, Yokozawa unwillingly returned to watching this self-destruction playing out before him. He had been covertly observing Takano's interaction with the obnoxious brunet.

During this time Yokozawa's attention had been caught by the way Takano's new companion's dark eyes kept drifting over to the man he'd arrived with. Likewise, his sharp steel gaze also noted how Usami was all but pressed to the side of the spectacled youth next to him. Yokozawa felt certain he was observing some sort of triangle.

He sighed, wondering again about what drew such men, himself included, to such unnatural attachments: it was all so sordid.

Yokozawa cursed under his breath.

Despite how hard he seemed to others, his heart was actually a rather fragile thing and he secretly couldn't bear the idea that one of his interventions would eventually result with Takano withdrawing from him or ending their friendship. As much as he wished he could confront Takano and pull him away from this place, he also knew at this point he'd never be able to do so without a devastating scene**.**

Still, this didn't mean he had to stand idly by. As he'd looked over at Usami, Yokozawa imagined he couldn't tempt the author away from the side of the man he was with (not that he really wanted to), but he wasn't above seeing if he couldn't pull his competition's chain a bit.

Yokozawa slipped easily into the crowd around Usami. After a brief introduction and the connection to Marukawa had been forwarded and cards exchanged, the two men quietly began discussing publishing. Though Yokozawa could tell that the author wasn't really all that interested in their conversation, Usami did seem momentarily grateful for the distraction from the ongoing conversation on economics.

Not that Yokozawa cared one way or the other. The true moment he'd been waiting for arrived just a moment later, when Usami wasn't looking at him but had glanced back at the obvious object of his own affections. Yokozawa turned then and caught the keen dark stare of this evening's nemesis. He raised his glass slowly in pointed salute, a grim smile painted on his fierce face.

Yokozawa watched the crease form on his opponent's handsome forehead. Across the room Hiroki rolled his eyes and shook his head. At This Yokozawa's blatant grin became much more genuine and certainly more satisfied.

Seeing this Hiroki turned and walked away from the wall he'd been leaning against.

Yokozawa watched with mild curiosity as the brunet ducked under a silk sash that the host had tied to keep his guests from going into the second level of the flat, climbed the stairs and disappeared down a darkened hallway.

Seeing this, he politely excused himself from the conversation and made his way back over to the bar where Takano now stood waiting for his glasses to be refilled.

"Hey, Masamune…" Yokozawa slid in next to Takano at the bar. "I've had enough of this place. Let's go."

"On the contrary, things are just starting to get interesting," Takano murmured, a slight thickness forming on the edge of his words.

This confirmed Yokozawa's earlier suspicion that Takano had been drinking long before he'd shown up to meet him. "Yeah, well, good luck on your own then. Your new 'friend' has left."

"What?" Crispness suddenly returned to Takano's voice as he whirled around and began to frantically scan the party looking for Kamijou.

"Come on, he's gone. Let's just go!" Yokozawa urged. He should have known better, however, than to think that Takano would leave so easily.

In fact, his words had done just the opposite of their intended effect. They stirred up all the emotions Takano had relating to Oda's flight, his first true love's abandonment, leaving him suddenly frantic.

"What the hell did you do, Yokozawa?"

Yokozawa's eyes narrowed, despite the fact he was surprised by his friend's response. "What do you mean _what did I do_?" His eyes flashed.

"How could I have done anything? After the idiot ran into me I haven't been within twenty feet of him."

Takano regarded his friend suspiciously. He didn't buy it. He knew that Yokozawa would do what he could to keep him protected from whatever he perceived as a danger. "So you saw him leave then. Right? Where'd he go?"

"I have no idea," Yokozawa lied. But before he could stop himself his eyes flicked over in the direction of the stairs.

"Uh huh," Takano said as he took a deep drink from his glass and pushed away from the bar heading in the direction Yokozawa's eyes led him.

"Takano!" Yokozawa barked.

"I have to find him!" Takano growled back before disappearing into the crowd.

_How often have I heard those words? _Yokozawa wondered, though usually Takano was drunk and barely conscious when he uttered them.

He watched with a growing sense of despair as Takano slipped under the sash and up the stairs. Yokozawa knew that whether his friend found the brunet or not… either way Takano wasn't going to find what it really was he was looking for.

* * *

><p><strong>OLD AN: So my author's notes today are going to be a bit more expansive than usual.<strong>

**I received a rather cryptic review from an anonymous reader demanding that I cease writing this story.**

**I have never been told to stop a story before, though I am not unfamiliar with having my narratives questioned.**

**It is amazing to me the power of those four little words that reader wrote. It cast a pall over my day and I momentarily lost the pleasure of writing a story that I had previously been getting a tremendous amount of satisfaction from. Not to mention I had been laboring over this new chapter for a period of days despite feeling poorly.**

**I say this not to dissuade criticism… as I feel it is very important.**

**It makes one think. I mean, look how many words I am spending to address an anonymous person's four simple ones.**

**And I suppose I should actually be quite happy as I believe the purpose of creative work is to elicit a reaction. Good or bad, a strong response is far better than indifference.**

**As a creative person, I enjoy taking reader requests when I can make them work in what I feel is a reasonable manner… I have spent considerable time here trying to set up a probable situation, paint psychological portraits of the players to underscore their motivations… not just write some hot random fuck.**

**I hope that reader understands that this story takes place when the characters were not with their one true partner and both were involved in rather self-destructive behaviors at the time as each man tried to fill a void in his life by a lost love.**

**I mean, it is fanon that Hiroki was greatly active even when he was younger and in love with Akihiko, and there is little dispute that Onodera's flight greatly reduced Takano… So understand I am not messing with the pairings and think that such an incident could have occurred…**

**If the anonymous reader had cared to elaborate on his/her objections I would have taken them into serious consideration (not saying I would have stopped the story, however). To be honest, I am still very curious as to what is about this story that is so unacceptable.**

**I am always willing to listen to thoughtful feedback when it is given and it does truly shape my tales.**

**I do however, also wish to point out also that no one is forced to read my stories, so if it displeases you, please close out and go to another story that you find more palatable. That is what I do when I find a tale not to my taste.**

**After all, my appreciation of FF and what I feel is the strength of this site is that it allows creative and artistic freedom.**

**(As well as the joy of good lemons.)**

**Now on to thank those of you whose support of this tale kept me moving forward, rather that stopping.**

**Kristin From Italy- Thank you so much for the kind words, princess, so happy you find each story its own experience. Glad you liked the cross character interaction and the bits about Takano's longing for Onodera.**

**Mini Blue Skirt- May I say here how much I have been enjoying your travels through my fics? Thank you so much for the reviews along the way. It means a lot to me. Good point about Takano noticing Hiroki's sadness but not Yokozawa's, but often we only see what we want to, otherwise things get too complicated. Glad you noted again the use of the eyes, as a means of nonverbal communication. It is often as important what is unsaid as what is said.**

**Joan Incarnate- I am developing a fierce appreciation of Yokozawa myself. My heart goes out to those long sufferers of the unrequited.**

**Black Flamingo- Can I tell you how much your support of this creative cross-over means to me? A lot, dear Bird.**

**Soulfighter17- Thank you so much for being such a dedicated reader. Yes, Hiroki's sorrow is palpable in the canon, which is one of the reasons I am so drawn to him as a character. Glad you liked the conflict.**

**Itachi Is Deidaras- So glad you liked it and happy you enjoyed the SIH/JR face off.**

**IAMLEGEND- You and me both and thanks as always for your faithful readership.**

**143yaoifangirl- here it is. Glad you liked Takano's angst for his lost love. Thank you for telling me the parts that moved you. It means a lot to me.**

**Black Artic Fox- How I relish your reviews and am so pleased to see you joining in on this one as well. As you can see Yokozawa did try to prevent, knowing his friend's compromised state but his own love holds him back from being truly effective. And yes, both Hiroki and Takano were seeking escape and release from the pain of their feelings. Thank you so much for feeling things are relatively IC as SIH is much newer to me than JR. And when you get that AMV done please let me know as I'd love to see it.**

**Egoist Fan Girl- It never feels like a Hiroki fic chapter is done until you have reviewed. Love your comments as always. The bit about Takahiro and the club will be more fully developed in the next chapter. So many people seemed to like the almost fight. Why do you suppose that is? Hmmm. Fodder for future fic. Just so you know, this is going to be a very bitter lemon.**

**Rikachan, - Thank you so much for your support of this fic!**

**You too, Puppyfacetwo- always so pleased to see you chime in (and grateful).**


	4. Chapter 4: Reunion

**OLD AN: **

**SoulFighter17, after all your faithful reviews, your wish is my command...Here's the next chapter.**

* * *

><p><strong>College Daze<strong>

**Chapter Four: Reunion**

* * *

><p>After opening a few doors in the darkened upstairs of the flat, Hiroki found the bathroom. Normally doing something like this, disrespecting the boundaries of a host he didn't even know, would have been unthinkable to him, but tonight was somehow different.<p>

Staggering slightly, Hiroki made his way to the sink. Here, he dashed his face with cold water. He knew he was more than a little drunk; otherwise he wouldn't have tempted fate by entertaining Takano's flirtation, especially when the man was so obviously taken.

_Whether Takano-san knows this or not._

Hiroki breathed a sigh of relief thinking how lucky he was to have escaped the situation undamaged.

_That gray-eyed giant, what does Takano-san call him? Ah, yes, Yokozawa... That guy's a bad-ass and he's definitely not thrilled with Takano-san's actions. _Hiroki wasn't a coward by any means, but he had no desire to tangle with someone like that.

His taxed mind fumbled as what to do next. He could stagger off and call a taxi to return to his apartment, but cabs were expensive and his pockets were tight right now. He didn't really trust himself to public transit at the moment either. He could approach Akihiko, who would no doubt leave the party to take him home. However, Hiroki couldn't bear the idea of being seen in his current state by the idiot Takahiro, or the quiet reproach and look of disappointment that such a request would undoubtedly draw from Akihiko.

_Akihiko. _Hiroki ran his still-wet hands through his unruly hair.

There was another reason he was unwilling to face Akihiko at the moment; it had to do with the information he'd been given by Kudo.

As long as Hiroki had known Akihiko, they had both shared a passion for the written word. As they had gotten older and the expectations of their families had become more apparent, they had bonded further in their deep commitment to literature.

Over the last few years the two of them had determined that they would both major in literature at "T", despite the fact that Hiroki's father had demanded he go into business, while the senior Usami had dictated law as Akihiko's path. As Akihiko's father made similar threats as Hiroki's, together the two of them had planned how they would navigate their reduced states to pursue what they loved. They even had talked about rooming together in the dorms or maybe sharing a small apartment.

Despite the struggles they would undoubtedly face, Hiroki had been delighted with their plotting because it meant he would be living with the object of his affections. He'd nurtured some tender hope that after a time co-habitating, Akihiko would come to understand just how natural it was for the two of them to be together. Akihiko on the other hand, had been enamored with the idea because it meant he would finally "get" to live like regular, average people.

Then a few months back, Akihiko's grandfather Usami in England had unexpectedly died in an auto collision. He was speeding down some back-country road in an inebriated state in one of his sports cars and had a rather unfortunate encounter with a herd of sheep. On his demise, the patriarch of Akihiko's mother's clan had left a considerable amount in trust to his only (if not favorite) grandchild.

Now Akihiko lived in a flat not much different than this one. He'd graciously invited Hiroki to live with him on several occasions, but Hiroki hadn't been able to bring himself to do it. No matter how much he might have wanted to, his pride just wouldn't allow it. There was no way he could have paid for his fair share and he was no freeloader, neither was he a charity case.

Still, Hiroki had drawn comfort from the fact that they would at least be majoring together, sharing classes, and collaborating on projects, studying side by side. So he had been mystified, not to mentioned crushed, when after first term registration, he'd learned that Akihiko had, with no warning, suddenly switched his major to law. When he had furiously confronted Akihiko about this sudden shift in focus, his best friend's response had remained enigmatic. All Akihiko would say was that he and his father "had reached an understanding."

Now it was he who had reached an understanding.

With what Kudo disclosed to him that evening, everything had suddenly fallen into place. One didn't need to be brilliant to figure it out: Takahiro wanted to join an exclusive economics club, the senior Usami wanted his son to study law, and Akihiko wanted anything that would make Takahiro happy.

Hiroki knew that it would have required a stellar recommendation for Takahashi to have even been considered, so the President of Usami Corp. calls on his behalf and Akihiko suddenly changes his major. Hiroki wondered if Takahashi was even aware of the sacrifice his smitten friend had made for him.

_Knowing Akihiko, I doubt it._

Hiroki sat down on the edge of the bath, elbows on his knees, head in his hands. A wave of sorrow engulfed him, bringing tears to his eyes. This was followed by another crushing swell of anger.

In his compromised state, Hiroki knew the best thing he could do at the moment would be to just stay put for a while. At least until he could compose himself.

_But do I really want to regain my composure? _

Hiroki's temper burned white hot. He was so tired of this idiocy with Akihiko. The way he was feeling right now, he knew he could easily be enticed in making into a nasty scene.

_But maybe this is what the bastard needs… for Akihiko to see how fruitless all this sacrifice for Takahiro is and for Takahashi to see what Akihiko is really after_.

In this moment, Hiroki understood he could easily lower his pride enough to make a fool out of himself out in the other room.

_After all, isn't this what I've been doing with Akihiko for years now anyway? Playing the fool?_ And what about his pride, considering the tremendous sense of betrayal he felt? _After all the years of scheming and dreaming: what about the pact we made with each other?_

Hiroki pinched the bridge of his nose with one hand. He hated himself, that despite what he now knew and how furious he was, he still wanted Akihiko.

_But maybe…_

_Maybe tonight I've finally reached my limit. Maybe tonight is the night I tell that ignorant English-reared ass how I feel._

Hiroki pushed himself up, swaying ever so slightly and headed towards the door.

* * *

><p>As he moved across the room, oblivious to the other party goers around him, Takano acknowledged to himself that Yokozawa had been right in his earlier assessment: he'd had more than a few beers before the two had even met up that evening. The "M" University literature student was also heavily aware that this, combined with his newest ingestions, had set free dangerous emotions within him.<p>

His twin wolves of sorrow and anger were actively prowling.

Still, even though he recognized this, he didn't heed the danger. Takano reached the other side of the room and headed purposefully up the stairs in search of his brunet. He suddenly stopped himself and shook his head. Not "his"… "the"… _his_ brunet had disappeared months ago.

Takano remembered the first time he'd seen Oda. It wasn't the day that the younger boy confessed. He had actually been aware of the cute freshman for weeks in the library. He'd watched Oda reading and watched Oda watching him. Without Oda Ritsu even knowing, the stalker became the stalked. Takano was just so much better at hiding his observations that Oda never had a clue. Yet, despite his own reconnaissance, the obviously nervous boy's straightforward confession had stunned Takano.

At first he wasn't sure how he felt about the whole thing. Not that being admired was new: in high school he'd had a girl confessing to him at least once a week it seemed. In the midst of his apathetic teenage existence, however, that Oda, a boy, had been so obviously admiring him was new and, Takano eventually admitted, really quite intriguing.

The openness and the intensity with which _his_ brunet spoke had won him over far more quickly than Takano would ever be comfortable admitting. That was part of what had made Oda's disappearance so devastating, it just seemed so out of character.

_What in the hell happened? I still have no idea._

Takano remembered with a sudden flush of shame that when he initially discovered Oda's innocence, the boy's mild, privileged life and good-heartedness; he wanted to crush his admirer. In the midst of this, instead, he'd fallen hopelessly and completely in love with his sweet brunet and what had started as a cruel whim ended up crushing him instead. He had opened his heart without even realizing how closed it had been previously. With his family falling apart, he had been adrift and Ritsu had provided a desperately desired anchor. Once that was gone, he found himself drifting away even further. Now he was completely lost it seemed.

_I truly loved you, Oda Ritsu. So how the fuck does a brat like you get off leaving me without a word?_ Takano felt his sorrow and anger suddenly threaten to swallow him as easily as the liquor he'd just downed.

Once upstairs he began pushing open doors. The feelings inside him grew stronger with every empty room he encountered. One thing Takano knew after his devastating experience with Oda was that he was done with being abandoned… by anyone, even a stranger.

_No, this one isn't getting away so easily._

No sooner had he thought this than the new door he was standing in front of suddenly opened and standing there before him was Kamijou.

* * *

><p>Hiroki started with shock seeing Takano there when he opened the door. What stunned him even more, however, was to suddenly feel large hands cupping his jaw with a grasping strength, and a hot mouth crushing his.<p>

Takano pushed Hiroki back into the bathroom, kicking the door closed behind him.

Scotch met whiskey, and alcoholic passions collided, each man expressing his fury in that moment with lips and teeth and tongue. Tender lips immediately became swollen, bruised, as their mouths battled and gasped against each other.

Hiroki's hands gripped Takano's wrists as the taller man continued to push him backwards, until he felt his back pressed against the wall. Hiroki growled into Takano's mouth when he felt a knee move between his legs and a hard thigh press against his groin. In his anger-fevered state, Hiroki's dick quickened instantly in response to the pressure. Now that he had the wall for leverage, however, Hiroki's hands left Takano's wrists and moved to the "M" student's chest pushing him back.

Takano was surprised by the shorter man's strength as Kamijou shoved him to an arm's length away. Furious dark eyes blazed at him.

"What the hell are you doing?" Hiroki demanded, as though he hadn't just been kissing Takano back. He stared into rich honeyed eyes. In contrast to the heavy sweetness of their color, his pursuer's expression was exceptionally bitter.

"This is your punishment, Kamijou-san. I think it was very rude of you to leave without at least saying goodbye." Takano had planned to say this with a measure of humor, but when the words left his lips, he was shocked at the sincerity with which they were delivered.

Hiroki too was startled by the emotion contained in the words. Then he remembered one of the reasons he'd left the party and his dark eyes narrowed. "What about that other guy, Yokozawa-san?"

Takano laughed and tried to keep his voice light. "He's just a friend."

Seeing the skepticism in Kamijou's eyes, he stretched his long arms out, placing his palms on the wall on either side of the wild brown head, ignoring the heated palms still pressing him back. "Okay," Takano conceded with a quiet laugh. "So, we're sex friends but it really is nothing more than that."

"Ha!" Hiroki barked. _You should tell him that._

Takano looked at Kamijou and cocked an eyebrow. "So?" he challenged.

Hiroki's brow furrowed. He had tasted cigarettes on Takano's tongue in addition to the whiskey the other young man had consumed.

_Takano-san is the right height and his build is close enough. If I close my eyes_…

It certainly wouldn't be the first time he had sought a stand in for Akihiko. Hiroki looked into Takano's amber eyes and his rage at how much Akihiko possessed him still, despite what he knew, crested again within his chest and threatened to drown his heart.

Then he flashed on Yokozawa's threatening salute. Though he realized it was low of him, Hiroki was overwhelmed with the sudden desire to possess something that someone else longed for: maybe he couldn't make Takahiro go away or make Akihiko love him, but he could take this man here… knowing all the while there was another hungry for him in the other room.

At this realization, this current situation made the opportunity presented to him in his inebriated state quickly slip from dangerous to desirable. Hiroki's eyes narrowed as Takano continued to smirk.

_Cocky bastard,_ Hiroki thought. _Well, I've dealt with this type before and there's one way to cure that._

Staring unblinking into Takano's eyes, Hiroki began to slowly bend his elbows. His hands shifted from pushing away to grasping and pulling towards.

Takano pressed forward each inch he was given, until finally the two men's bodies were pressed tightly together. Takano's forearms were now flat against the wall. His mouth sought Kamijou's and he laughed when the man moved his head away. "What's this?" His uncomfortable low chuckle filled the room. "Feeling shy now?"

Hiroki snorted at Takano's practiced smoothness. "I don't like kissing, that's an act I generally reserve for someone I care for." Hiroki worried for a moment that his voice, while not slurred, sounded slightly uneven.

"Is that a confession?" Takano asked teasingly.

"No, it's a ground rule." Hiroki's eyes were fierce and there was not an ounce of play in his voice.

"What do you call what we were just doing a few minutes ago then?" Takano rumbled.

"You surprised me," Hiroki growled, looking away and blushing.

Takano quirked an incredulous brow. "But fucking's okay?"

"Yeah, sucking and fucking are fine, but no more kissing on the mouth. You have a problem with that?"

Takano's feline eyes glinted wickedly and he answered by leaning his shaggy dark head down and sucking Hiroki's earlobe into his mouth. He felt Hiroki shiver beneath him.

"Just your lips are off limits though. Right? I can kiss you anywhere else I want?" His low voice growled hot in Hiroki's ear. Takano punctuated his questions with a hard nipping kiss placed just at the base of Kamijou's ear.

Takano was startled when he felt Kamijou's hands reach up on the outside of his arms and grab his wrists again. He allowed the other to take his hands and he was surprised to feel Kamijou guide them to the front of his trousers.

"I can see by your continued questions you're going to keep babbling on unless your mouth is busy. So shut up and suck me," Hiroki snarled, emboldened by the liquor coursing through his veins.

Takano cocked his head to the side. _Yeah, this is definitely not my brunet._ But Kamijou's fury stirred something primal in him.

"Take off your shirt." Takano growled his command, even as he sank down to his knees. He was not going to follow direction without directing as well. He began undoing Kamijou's pants. Hiroki sighed and loosened his tie; he began pulling his shirttails out of his now open waist band.

"Holy fuck!"

Takano stopped in his motions watching the man pulling the shirt off over his head. He would have never guessed the glory hidden beneath the "T" student's clothes. Kamijou was no mere mealy academic: his body was that of a trained athlete. His lean abdomen was sculpted tight, rippling in all the right places; his pectorals had a pleasing hard swell to them.

As Takano looked up, he saw Kamijou smirking down at him. He felt his own cock start to fill as he watched Kamijou's hands slide across his chest and begin pinching his own nipples.

"Kendo, swimming, and track since grade school," Hiroki stated simply, reveling in Takano's awed stare.

Aware he was gaping, Takano dropped his gaze back down. He hurried to finish removing Kamijou's trousers, anxious now to see what other treasures the "T" student was hiding.

"Shit!" Takano choked when Kamijou's magnificent cock was revealed. His eyes widened with appreciation. "I guess you really can't judge a book by its cover."

"Not unless you pick it up…" Hiroki barked a bitter laugh throwing the stunned man's earlier line back at him. This laugh was cut short, however, and turned into a growling moan when Takano's mouth suddenly enveloped him.

It seemed the story Takano's eager tongue began to tell, also had a few unexpected twists of its own.

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><p><strong>NEW AN: Hey, Xkayami, thanks for the note! Glad to know you enjoyed this piece.<strong>

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><p><strong>OLD AN: Sorry for being so long between updates all. <strong>

**And I know: "What the hell with the cliff hanger, right on the edge of hot lemon goodness?" Yeah, evil author….**

**I also want to thank everyone for that last round of reviews on this story. The feedback was amazing and I can't tell you how much I appreciated everyone's encouragement to continue. Love you all (seriously).**

**I hope you're having a safe winter holiday if you celebrate and wishing you all a happy and peaceful new year.**

**Look for the next update, sooner rather than later. I think there's one more chapter here, maybe two and then I'm off again back to my other stories.**


	5. Chapter 5: Position

**College Daze**

**Chapter Five: Position**

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><p>Mere moments later found Hiroki naked and gasping.<p>

He was aware of the feel of the plastered wall behind him, its slightly textured surface scraping his naked shoulders and ass as they pressed against it. His fingers were tangled in the thick black mane of the head skillfully bobbing below his waist.

At some point Takano's shirt had come off and Hiroki had one leg draped over a broad bare shoulder. Takano had a firm grip on the base of his cock and was stroking as he all but deep-throated him.

Even in this, Takano was an arrogant tease.

Twice now he'd already brought Kamijou to the edge, only to slide him out of the sheath of his throat before the man reached the point of no return. Both times he did this, Takano immediately transferred his licking, alcohol-induced affections to Kamijou's tender sac and the inside of his thighs until the boil was simmering again.

By now, however, Hiroki had grown wise to this trick and he was not about to be frustrated a third time, he wanted to come badly. Earlier he'd had his hands flat against the wall, using them to support himself against Takano's vigorous oral onslaught. This time however, when Takano went to pull back, the fingers now entwined in his inky hair grasped tighter.

Takano lifted his eyes, his forehead creased with annoyance at the unexpected restraint. His amber gaze met Kamijou's and he saw the other man's eyes were filled with lustful fury.

"Not so fast, asshole, I want to come," Hiroki growled.

Normally and Takano would have had no problem thrashing Kamijou for his bad manners and rude address, but they had formed a strange and immediate intimacy in their shared states of inebriated anguish. So, rather than be offended, Takano found himself amused.

In truth, he was an asshole. It was a persona he'd carefully crafted, a finely forged armor that had taken him years to assemble, a blind behind which an infinitely tender and terribly wounded heart was hidden.

Takano grinned around Hiroki's cock, one eyebrow raised in challenge. Both men were acutely aware that though it might seem in their current positions his was the subservient posture; he was really the one with the power here.

Takano growled deep in his throat, his response to Kamijou's demand. The vibrations of this rumble sent a jolt to Hiroki's already stirred senses.

"Fuck!"

Hiroki gasped at this sensation, tipping his head back, colliding with the wall behind him.

Takano's eyes glinted slyly at this response before he dropped his eyes and with false obedience resumed his motions. The rumble in his throat continued and he hummed around Kamijou's shaft.

The sensation of this was like nothing Hiroki had previously experienced. With this kind of intense attention it didn't take long.

"Ahhhhh, good fuck!" Hiroki's balls hitched and his cock at last boiled over, shooting jets of hot seed into Takano's mouth. Takano held him in his mouth until his cock's twitching subsided. As the tension left his body, Hiroki's fingers relaxed.

Takano pushed a still quivering thigh off his shoulder. He pulled out of the now loose-fingered grasp, leaned over and spat the seed in his mouth into the toilet beside them.

"What? You're not going to swallow?" Hiroki taunted.

"I never swallow on the first date." A wicked humor lit Takano's eyes as he licked the remaining traces of come from his bottom lip.

"I'd hardly call this a date." Hiroki snorted. "That, or you think I have incredibly low standards."

"So what would you call it then?" Takano asked quietly, running a broad palm over one of Kamijou's still trembling thighs.

"I'd call it a random fuck." Hiroki's voice betrayed his bitterness.

Takano looked in to the "T" student's dark eyes and saw his own pain reflected back at him. He shrugged. "Okay, then let's get to it."

Takano lifted a lean leg again and draped a bent knee over his shoulder once more. Then he leaned in and placed a sucking kiss on the inside of Kamijou's thigh with such intensity it left a dark mark behind.

Hiroki's eyes widened as he watched Takano put two fingers in his mouth, slicking them with his spit. Takano then slipped his hand between his scissored legs and a slick digit was soon pressing against his entrance.

At Takano's touch Hiroki hissed. He stared at the kneeling man before him. Hiroki drew his draped leg up and braced a bare foot against Takano's shoulder pushing back, halting the action. He was shocked for an instant to realize that his socks had somehow been displaced in their earlier antics.

"Who says you get to fuck me?"

"What? You're the one who said this was just a random fuck," Takano growled.

"How do you know I wasn't talking about me fucking you?" Hiroki growled back.

"You just came, you're in no state to stick me!"

"Give me ten minutes."

Hearing this Takano raised an eyebrow in disbelief.

"If that," Hiroki amended.

The look on Takano's face moved from disbelief to admiration. "Seriously?"

"I'm not the kind of person who jokes around much… about anything."

Takano found despite his annoyance that the corners of his mouth turned up at Kamijou's truthful admission. "And here my first impression of you was that you were so lighthearted."

The two men stared at each other then, neither man blinking, each waiting for the other to bend.

"I'm not saying I'm going to let you fuck me… " Takano said finally. Feeling daring he added, "Yet…"

"But in the meantime, if you won't let me take you, what the hell am I supposed to do with this?" He nodded down. His pants were open and his erect cock jutted out. He'd been stroking himself occasionally while he'd been sucking Kamijou off.

Hiroki looked at Takano's taut dick, large and dewed with precum. He could feel himself starting to stir again already. "I suppose you want me to return the favor and suck you, but I'd rather watch you jack off." There was an alcoholic tint to Hiroki's tone, but in Takano's own buzzed state, he didn't notice.

"Yeah, I'd like to fuck that smart mouth of yours." Takano met Kamijou's gaze evenly. He stared back and was surprised when the other man didn't move. When he understood that Kamijou didn't truly plan to, he grunted.

"Stubborn bastard."

Takano spit into one of his own hands and allowed it to drift down and take up stroking his rigid cock. After a few moments, he stopped. He pulled his hand away and offered his slicked open palm to Hiroki. "If you're not going to suck me, at least help a guy out."

Hiroki looked at Takano's hand with distaste.

"Think of it as another form of an indirect kiss from that chaste mouth of yours," Takano taunted.

Finally Hiroki leaned his head down and spat in the proffered palm, their spit mingling in a way he found unsettlingly intimate. With this, Takano dropped his hand again, and resumed his stroking. His eyes soon became completely absorbed in the drama of his own flesh.

Hiroki stood over him watching, his bare foot still pressed against Takano's shoulder, his hand taking up his own reviving member. Through eyes heavy-lidded with lust he bserved Takano's deft motions. Hiroki couldn't help but wryly remark, "You're pretty good at that, you must get a lot of practice."

Takano, though he was nearing his pinnacle, still managed to snort.

"Asshole."

Then with a few more skilled rapid flicks of his wrist, his head tipped back, his handsome brow furrowed as he grimaced with his climax.

Spurts of milky fluid erupted, coating Takano's hand and shooting glistening strands as high as his nipples; subsequent spasms webbed his low stomach. He sat there panting a minute. Hiroki found the heaving of Takano's flat belly as erotic as watching the other man pleasure himself.

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><p>Takano hadn't even had the chance for his rapidly beating heart to slow down, when he suddenly felt the foot on his shoulder begin to push him slowly over backwards. Before he knew exactly what had happened, he was lying on his back on the floor, his arms pinned by Kamijou's knees, the naked youth sitting on his chest.<p>

"Now back to the matter of who's fucking who." Hiroki grinned. It was a rare expression and Takano realized that Kamijou's handsome face was truly not well suited for smiles. Peering down his chest, away from the disconcerting smile, Takano could see that the man atop him was hard again.

The vision of Kamijou's beautiful cock and the feel of the man's naked ass and his balls heating the flesh of his own bare chest, warming the places where he'd just been aware of the cooling traces of his own come was overwhelming. Takano thought that if he hadn't just shot, that this image and the sense of skin against skin might have been enough in itself to make him lose it immediately.

"Unfair," Takano said coolly, downplaying the arousal he felt. "I seem to find myself in a rather disadvantaged position at the moment." He gazed with feigned annoyance into Kamijou's furious dark eyes.

"On the contrary…" Hiroki leaned over and whispered into Takano's ear, "I think your position is perfect."

"Fuck you," Takano growled without malice.

"Not happening," Hiroki snorted.

Then suddenly Takano bucked up with his hips.

Leaning over the taller man, Hiroki was already a bit off center. With his generally strong sense of balance already compromised by drink, he tumbled. Suddenly the two men were vying for physical dominance; this resulted in several minutes of wild grappling.

Takano felt his legs get caught in his loosened trousers; he kicked to extricate himself from their hindrance. In the flailing of muscular limbs he was unsure if Kamijou was assisting or attacking, but within moments both of them were naked.

Rough breaths and curses echoed off the walls of the large bathroom as fingers clenched flesh and knees pressed tender junctions. Their youthful hides were soon slicked with sweat. Angular chins, lean arms, tight shoulders, and chests collided; bony hips and firm asses bumped; and newly filled cocks brushed panting bellies in this rough simulation of animalistic combat.

In the end, the positions ended up reversed and Takano now pinned Hiroki. Light bruises were filling and pinked abrasions were visible on both where their flesh had scraped and struggled against the slate tiled floor. Hiroki and Takano were vigorously panting. Their wild eyes sparkled, they were now fully drunk on their own bodies' potent chemical cocktail: a fine blend of aggression and arousal.

Takano's pale golden eyes leered down on Kamijou in triumph.

"God damn it," Hiroki exhaled in reluctant surrender.

Takano laughed at this, but the pleasure of his victory was cut short when Kamijou's eyes suddenly narrowed."You've got condoms, right?"

Now it was Takano's turn to curse. "God damn it!"

"Seriously?" A dark gaze pinned Takano just as surely as he was sitting on the man below him.

"Then I win!" Hiroki barked with pleasure at this turn of events.

"You have them then, I suppose?"

"Never leave home without them," Hiroki replied smugly.

"Don't suppose you'd care to share them?" Takano wasn't ready to concede just yet.

"In my view, you proposition a guy without thinking about protection, you deserve to get fucked." Hiroki said this with conviction. His gravelly voice then became somehow simultaneously serious and wicked.

"Think about this as a lesson in _safe sex_."

"Fuck." Takano sighed. The responsible part of him knew Kamijou was right, but to be honest, he'd cared so little for his own life since Oda disappeared it was something he rarely considered.

Takano picked himself up off Kamijou and stood up. He moved over to the vanity and leaned over, placing his palms down on the smooth stone surface of the counter.

"You've done this before, right?" Hiroki asked. "Bottomed, I mean?"

Takano felt himself sharply moved by the concerned tone of Kamijou's query. He nodded. It was true; he had, several times, with Yokozawa in fact, though not recently. It was just one thing in a long list of failed experiments he'd been willing to try, looking for anything that might fill the void in him left by Oda's abandonment.

Hiroki scrambled up, he retrieved his pants from the floor and pulled a foiled square wrapper from out of his pocket. Takano watched, with both hunger and apprehension, as Kamijou skillfully sheathed his cock.

"Is it my imagination or did you just get bigger somehow?" Just the barest trace of nervousness was noticeable beneath Takano's light tone.

Hiroki didn't answer, but the comment stirred a spark of amusement in his embered eyes. He moved over and pressed up behind Takano. He slid a hand down the "M" student's back and over Takano's firm ass. Takano growled when Kamijou punctuated this sensual stroke with a light smack against his ass cheek. He could feel the hard length of the man's cock brush against him as Kamijou leaned over his back and opened the mirrored cabinet in front of them.

"What are you doing?"

Not only was the action of rummaging through their host's cupboards intrusive, but now that he'd reconciled himself to the fact that he was the one who was going to be fucked, Takano's body was now aching to be penetrated.

"I'm looking for something to grease you with, idiot!" Hiroki's keen eyes roved over dozens of chemical concoctions.

"What about that?" Takano nodded to a bottle of something he'd used before in a pinch.

"That's oil based," Hiroki mumbled. He reached past it for a vial of something else.

"So?"

"So? So oil based lube breaks down the latex and makes it permeable." Hiroki shut the door and regard Takano in its mirrored surface. "That's like safe sex one o' one. How can you not know that?" A disapproving crease formed on his brow.

"Thank you for the lecture, professor. I can tell you're quite the expert," Takano snarled. He was desperate now to be filled, to be momentarily obliterated. "Are you going to stand there talking all night or are going to actually get around to fucking me sometime soon?"

Hiroki dropped the vial on the counter. Long fingers suddenly wound through Takano's thick inky hair and Hiroki used this grip to pull the other man's head back towards him. Hiroki placed a mark-making mouth on the back of Takano's neck. The hand not tangled in the "M" student's hair, drifted around and pinched a dark nipple.

Then he removed his mouth and moved it higher. "Lecture's over," Hiroki breathed in Takano's ear. "Now it's time for the physical demonstration. Where you'll have the chance to see this _expertise_ in action."

Takano could feel his cock start at these words.

"Oh yeah?" He challenged, though his eyes were shut against the burn of his scalp where his hair was being pulled.

"Mmmmm," Hiroki murmured in affirmation. "I'm going to fuck you so sweetly you're going to come without even having to touch yourself."

At the feel of Kamijou's hot breath on his neck, combined with the confidence in the man's deep voice, a tremor of anticipation rippled through Takano from crown to cock.

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><p><strong>NEW AN: <strong>

**It's been a while since I have visited this story, but re-posting it now, I am reminded of why it remains one of my favorites. This growly combo is just so damn hot. I just might have to take a break from editing my own story... Just kidding (kind of).**

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><p><strong>Old AN:<strong>

**Surprise… Uke Takano… Hiroki Seme… I don't know about you… but I like it.**

**So next chapter "coming soon" (pun intended). **

**Yes, I know what you want… What I want is reviews… Fair trade, don't you think?**


	6. Chapter 6: Reflection

**College Daze**

**Chapter Six: Reflection**

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><p>Hiroki pushed Takano's head forward roughly as he relinquished his hold on the "M" student's hair.<p>

Takano kept his head bowed, eyes closed, as he listened to the familiar sound of a popping top, a liquid squelch, and a comforting slick, as Kamijou opened the lube, filled his palm, then began slathering it over his condom sheathed cock.

A firm thigh made its way between his legs and Takano felt a knobby knee bump the inside of one of his thighs.

"Wider." Behind him Kamijou's voice growled low.

Takano had slipped somehow into that place of apathetic passivity he'd known in high school. He decided at this point he was going to give himself completely over to his sensual debasement and so complied without complaint. He stepped his feet apart, adopting a broader stance.

Hiroki was surprised by Takano's acquiescence, but rather than acknowledge this he pushed further. "Spread them."

The tone of Hiroki's voice pierced Takano's impassive shell and a bit of his pride bled out. Takano frowned at this command. "How much wider…" he started. Then he felt a hand reach out and slip over one of his ass cheeks.

"I'm not talking about your legs," Hiroki purred roughly.

Takano hung his head slightly lower, understanding now what the other wanted. "You know, you're not what I thought you'd be like, Kamijou." Takano lifted and turned his head, eying Hiroki over his shoulder.

Hiroki smirked at this despite the blush that colored his cheeks. "Well, to return to our earlier conversations, Takano-san… As a man who declared to me earlier that you tend to just pick up whatever appeals to you, once again I'll reiterate you can't always judge a book by its cover." He punctuated this comment with another slightly harder smack to Takano's backside.

Takano groaned, more at Kamijou's return to this now tired analogy and less at the smack. He turned his head back with a weary shake and sighed. Then slowly, he slid his long arms back, each hand clasped a firm cheek and pulled them apart, completely revealing himself. Takano had never felt quite so vulnerable.

Then he realized this wasn't true, he remembered how he felt the first time it really hit him that Ritsu had left him, this boy he'd confessed his love to.

All thoughts of Oda were momentarily banished from his mind, however, as a warm, wet finger suddenly traced the small of his back, down between his spread cheeks, and feathered around his entrance. He gasped at the sensation as Kamijou's slicked digit tickled his portal.

His balls which had already drawn up in his excitement during their wrestling hitched higher.

"You have an amazing ass, you know," Hiroki growled appreciatively.

Takano snorted at this. "Are you going to stand there and admire my asshole all night or are you going to fuck me?"

In response to this challenge, Hiroki's finger continued to tease him until Takano was all but snarling. The dark youth was shocked, however, when despite his earlier ferocity, he found Hiroki was actually careful with his preparation: as a single greased digit slowly penetrated him. It had been quite a while since Takano had bottomed and it always surprised him how strange this initial intrusion felt. He struggled to relax.

Hiroki waited for Takano to adjust, before he began sliding his finger in and out, pulling down as he did this occasionally to stretch him.

"You don't do this much, do you? From this end, I mean, 'cause, god, you're fucking tight." Hiroki sounded pleased. Then he used his thumb to begin stroking Takano's perineum as his finger stilled inside him.

Takano growled under the electric sensations this elicited. His cock was leaking steadily now. "Hurry up and fuck me, Kamijou," he ordered.

"Hold on there, Takano-san," Hiroki shot back, enjoying the other's sensual torment, "Tell me when I've got it."

"When you've got what?" Takano rasped with impatience. Then Kamijou brushed over that special spot and a white wave of pleasure stole the "M" student's sight as a wave of sensation crashed over him.

"Fuck!"

Behind him Takano heard a low chuckle. His lean sides heaved as Kamijou continued to stroke him. After just a few moments of this, Takano all but begged, "Take it out, Kamijou, I don't want to come yet!"

"I'll take it out… But you're not going to stay empty for long," Hiroki's low tones taunted.

The finger left him almost as soon as Kamijou said this and the empty feeling threatened to swallow Takano again. However, the man was true to his word. Takano grunted as something much thicker than a finger immediately nudged his entrance.

He bit his bottom lip and tried not to cry out as Kamijou's cock pressed against him and began to push inside. Takano closed his eyes; moisture gathered in their corners. He found himself wishing all his tears came so easily.

He dropped his head lower, fighting to hold back his groans at the stretch and burn of the other man's entrance. Despite the fact Kamijou was easing himself in slowly, Takano felt his dick drop slightly as the pain and the pressure threatened his arousal.

Hiroki had been mesmerized by the sight of himself sliding into Takano's gorgeous spread ass, but he was brought out of this as he felt the man beneath him suddenly tense. He grabbed Takano's wrists and moved his spreading hands back to the counter. He pressed his chest against Takano's back and laid a sucking kiss on a broad shoulder. He could smell the alcohol in Takano's pained perspiration.

Hiroki stood up and backed himself out of Takano partway, before he reached over and grabbed the lube bottle again. He dripped the cool fluid between Takano's ass cheeks and onto his latexed cock before leaning back over the man beneath him and pushing in again.

Takano felt the heat of Kamijou's body over him, the sweet friction of their salty skins where they touched. He wondered, as he always did when he bottomed, if this was what his tender, innocent Oda had felt as he had bucked atop him. At this thought, in his desire to be connected to his first, last, and lost love in some… in any way, Takano finally extinguished any remaining resistance.

Behind him Hiroki had been imagining that it was Akihiko, wet and trembling beneath him. As Takano relaxed fully, Hiroki pressed in finally, fully, claiming his unrequited in his mind. Both men exhaled a relieved breath at the sensation of Hiroki's hard pelvis bumping against the firm mounds of Takano's ass, the brush of balls at the base of stretched, slick skin.

Growls and grunts, gasps and moans ricocheted off the walls of the bath. The two men's hushed voices joined in a primitive duet, just as their bodies were now connected. The slap of flesh added a percussive element as Hiroki set out at a purposeful pace using slow shallow strokes at first, allowing Takano to continue adjusting.

But Takano found this tender treatment maddening. He didn't want kindness. He wanted to be punished, to be crushed for whatever sin he'd committed against Oda that had driven the boy away. He wanted a physical pain that matched the ache in his heart and for that reason he sought to incite Kamijou to cruelty.

"I thought you were going to fuck me, not spend the evening waltzing with me," Takano pantingly chided.

Behind Takano Hiroki's eyes narrowed. He had been trying to be relatively gentle, having been with enough men who were not. But if that was how Takano wanted him to play it, he was only too happy to oblige.

Takano was about to issue another jibe, but his words were cut off with a barking cry as Hiroki suddenly slammed into him so hard it threatened to steal his breath. Takano felt the man behind him grasp his hips in a vise like embrace, as Hiroki drew back only to plunge into him again even more deeply, if that was even possible.

Takano felt his heart immediately accelerate, beads of sweat jumped to the surface of his skin, and a shaking shiver coursed up his back as his body absorbed these erotic blows.

"Is this what you wanted?" If he pretended the body beneath his was Akihiko's, tonight he could deal fury as easily as tenderness.

Below him Takano's dark head nodded, but this was not enough. "Say it!" Hiroki demanded, his frustration spilling over into his voice.

"Y… y…yes!" Takano gasped at last, as Kamijou continued to pound into him. In this moment all thoughts were banished, there was no heartache or regret, the only thing Takano was conscious of was the hard rock of pleasure, the heated collision of flesh.

Despite the pain, the thrill of being so conquered resurrected Takano's waning erection. Beside this, each thrust of the thick cock inside him now grazed against that internal place of pleasure. Beneath the pistoning pulse of Kamijou's motions, Takano groaned deep in his chest as the tingle that had started in his balls frothed up. His low belly tensed as he was pushed past the point of no return.

To his amazement Kamijou had been right, he was on the verge of coming and no hand had touched him. Without a word, only a low growl to announce it, Takano leaned forward further as his internal tension reached its crescendo. Despite the fact he'd just recently come, the first jet of his ejaculate shot high enough to catch the chin of his bowed head, the succeeding spurts were shared between the slick surface of his torso and the marbled counter.

With every nerve tingling, in the after-burn of this powerful release, Takano found himself trying to pull away from any further fleshly sensation. He felt a strong hand leave his hip and grab his thick mane from the back and hold him in place.

"Be still!" Hiroki rasped in Takano's ear leaning forward, "I'm not finished." Because he had come earlier and the condom dulled the sensation of their friction, Hiroki knew he would not come nearly so quickly this time. Takano had asked him for fierceness and he had no intention of leaving the man wanting now.

Takano gritted his teeth and new tears filled his eyes as Kamijou continued to pound into his aching ass. In addition to the hand in his hair, he felt a lean arm slip around under one of his own and long fingers grip his shoulder.

Hiroki laid his sweaty forehead against Takano's beaded broad back. "Hang in there, it will get better in a minute," he promised. His rough voice held a trace of tenderness though his hips never lost their rhythm.

Takano cursed beneath his breath, though he found the graveled tone of Kamijou's grunts strangely soothing. His large hands gripped the slick edge of the counter; his knuckles were white with tension.

Just when the sensation had become all but unbearable, the internal friction against his prostate broke through the wall of his pain and wave after wave of pleasure crashed over him again. Within and behind him Takano too could feel Kamijou at last ascending.

Takano felt Kamijou's damp head raise off his shoulder. The fingers previously tangled in his hair loosened and he raised his own head in response. Each man's torrid glare met himself in the mirror in front of them. Both were taken aback by the pain and the anger that ghosted behind their eyes, haunting their gaze. Then their gazes locked on each other for just a moment and each man quickly looked away knowing far more about the other's truth then he had ever desired to know.

Hiroki and Takano's stomachs both knotted with conviction at their acts of sordid substitution.

The two men dropped their eyes as Hiroki's hips finally bucked with the spasms of his climax. When the final pulse of his orgasm released him, Hiroki collapsed for a few moments against Takano's back, their gasping breaths synchronized between their sweat soaked skins. Then he pulled out.

No sooner had Kamijou's cock vacated his body than all strength left Takano and he sank to his knees. A moment later, beside him, Hiroki joined Takano kneeling on the floor.

Neither man looked at the other, afraid they would see the same truth they had in their mirrored-moment. Both Takano and Hiroki's shoulders hitched simultaneously as they shared a single sob and then fell silent.

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><p><strong>NEW AN:<strong>

**TBF101- Thank you, darlin', for going the extra mile to log out and review for your cyber seme. I love hearing from you, you know that.**

**Ichihara19- Now you know, and thank you for the kind words. Glad you are enjoying it.**

**Kayami- Here you go... Next chapter.**

**Anyone else out there reading or re-reading, I'd love to hear from you.**


	7. Chapter 7: Regrets

**College Daze**

**Chapter Seven: Regrets**

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><p>Once Hiroki's breathing returned to normal, he opened his eyes and looked down at his relaxing cock. He was suddenly emotionally exhausted, physically spent, and still more than a little drunk. His head, light from both the flesh and the liquor he'd consumed, spun dangerously.<p>

Despite this, he carefully stripped the condom off his shrinking shaft. He tossed this in the waste basket and then rocked back off his knees. Despite the cold press of the tile floor against his naked flesh, he just sat there. After a minute of this, Hiroki pulled his knees to his chest and wrapped a lean arm around them, hugging them close to his body. His other arm cradled his head and his long fingers tangled restlessly through his hair. Other than this motion, however, he was completely still.

Takano too settled back. He slipped off his knees and slid over. He stretched out his legs before him and pressed his heated back against the smooth cool side of the bath. He could feel the lube trickle out of his empty hole onto the ceramic underneath his ass.

He looked at Hiroki silently, then leaned over slightly and reached for his discarded pants. He pulled a crumpled pack and a lighter from his pocket. He lit up and took a deep drag. The ache in his ass gave Takano a new sensation of vacancy, but even so, it was a peaceful kind of hollow. He leaned his head back against the edge of the tub and closed his eyes, allowing himself to drift, deeply drowsy in his post coital state. It took a lot for him to be really affected these days, so his body felt pleasantly buzzed by both the liquor and his endorphins.

After a few more minutes of silence, Hiroki unfolded himself. He stood slowly and began to gather his clothes, his motions only slightly unsteady now that the rush of conquest had been bled from his body. Unmindful of any pretense of decorum now after so defiling his host's bathroom, he took a hand towel from beside the sink and wet it. He clumsily wiped himself down and then began pulling his clothes back on.

Dark eyes peered out nervously from under thick brown bangs at the figure resting on the floor before him. Takano didn't need to open his eyes to feel the other man's gaze on him.

"Well, that was fun," he mumbled, taking another deep drag, his eyes still closed.

Even though he was free from Takano's amber-eyed gaze, Hiroki still felt himself blush.

"You okay?" Hiroki asked as he tucked his shirttails back into his pants.

Takano opened one eye and regarded him curiously. "You're asking me that now?" He snorted lightly.

Hiroki leaned down and picked up his socks and his tie. He stood there dumbly before Takano, unmoving. Takano realized to his surprise that Kamijou was actually still waiting for an answer.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he finally said on his next smoky exhalation.

Hiroki sat down on the toilet and began pulling on his socks. As he stood after he'd finished, he swayed a bit.

"You're a little drunk, I think, Kamijou." Takano observed this through heavy-lidded eyes.

"Yeah, it seems that way." Hiroki looked at Takano uneasily. "I uh… have to go," The snarl and growl were gone from his voice. Takano was struck with how young this absence made the "T" student sound.

"Do you need anything?" Hiroki asked uncomfortably, peering warily at the still naked Takano.

Takano laughed bitterly at this strange question.

"Just like you, I suppose, I'd like someone to fill in the bottomless pit in my heart, but I don't really see that happening tonight." He exhaled a perfect ring of smoke. "So, I guess instead I'll settle for that wet towel."

Hiroki eyed the sodden towel on the counter he'd used to wipe himself down. Despite what they just had done, he still couldn't escape his meticulous nature. Instead of picking it up, he reached for another and ran it under the cold tap. He wrung this out and handed it to Takano. Both men started but pretended not to notice when their fingers brushed in the exchange.

"Thanks." Takano took the damp cloth with the hand not holding his cigarette and began wiping his seed and sweat from his skin.

Hiroki nodded. He stepped into his guest slippers and headed for the exit. "See you around," he mumbled as he opened the door to step out.

Takano looked up at _the_ brunet from his ablutions. "Probably not," he said softly.

Hiroki paused for a moment and frowned as he considered Takano's words. His expression shifted to something slightly pained. Again he nodded and though he felt more than a little bit foolish, his shoulders dipped down in a slight bow before he closed the door.

Once he stepped away from the chamber of his latest indiscretion, Hiroki breathed a deep sigh.

"Shit," he breathed.

Behind the closed door of the bath, once finished with his wipe-down, Takano tapped his cigarette out on the tile floor. He studied the soiled towel in his hand, before he flipped it over his shoulder into the tub behind him. He ran a hand through his still sweat-damp, dark hair.

"Shit," he murmured.

* * *

><p>Hiroki started down the stairs. He grabbed the railing now, feeling more than a bit unsteady. He looked up from watching the careful placement of his feet as he descended and felt a jolt when he encountered cold, gray eyes staring at him from the bottom of the staircase.<p>

"Shit." Hiroki exhaled the profanity again as he tried to muster the strength to display his previous bravado. Reaching the base of the stairs he slipped under the sash and stood up back out in the main area of the party, though he was hard pressed not to trip as he did this.

"Where's Takano," Yokozawa snarled.

Hiroki scowled. Despite his exhaustion, Yokozawa's rudeness incited him to be reckless.

"Your_ boyfriend_ will be down in a minute," he growled back. "_If_ he can walk, that is." Hiroki added under his breath, purposely loud enough for Yokozawa to hear him."

"What did you just say?" Yokozawa's eyes had widened and then narrowed back down dangerously almost immediately. He reached out a hand and was about to grasp Hiroki's shoulder to shake him when a voice off to the side of him stopped him in his tracks.

"There you are, Old Man. Come on now, we're leaving." Akihiko's cultured tones broke through the two men's tension.

Akihiko had watched Hiroki head up the stairs earlier and had seen Takano follow him up a few minutes later. He'd also been observing Yokozawa waiting there for some time now at the stairs' base and had become concerned as he'd witnessed the man's obvious frustration mounting as the clock ticked onwards. So the minute he'd seen Hiroki emerge from the hallway he ambled over hoping to head off any major conflict.

Had it been anyone else to approach, Yokozawa would have told him to "fuck off!" and would have gone after his offender anyway. As an intern with aspirations at Marukawa, however, and understanding fully that Usami was one of their rising star authors, Yokozawa knew better than to get involved in any disputes with the man.

Hiroki looked at Akihiko in mild disbelief. It took him a moment to change gears as he'd been readying himself for combat. This and the liquor still burning in his veins caused him to respond to his unrequited's intercession in a way that he normally wouldn't have.

"And what about your _precious _Takahiro?"

Both Akihiko and Yokozawa started at the venom in his voice.

"Takahiro is happily talking economics which he finds endlessly thrilling, while I, unfortunately, do not," Akihiko offered gracefully. Hiroki suddenly felt ashamed at himself as he knew that whether or not Akihiko cared about the topic, he would have been happy merely to bask in Takahiro's bland presence for hours.

"Listen to your _friend_. I think it would be wisest for you to leave now." It was bold of Yokozawa to use such a tone in front of Usami, but he was still burning from Hiroki's comments.

Hiroki scowled at this, the way that Yokozawa said "friend" held the same sharp edge as his own earlier "boyfriend" and cut him just as raggedly. Bleeding from too many other places at the moment, however, Hiroki was too weary to fight at this point, so instead he shifted his gaze from Yokozawa back to Akihiko.

"Thank god," he muttered "I thought we'd be stuck in this dump all night." Hiroki winced when his growled tones, which he'd intended to sound furious, came out slightly whiny.

Akihiko noted this, though his face remained impassive.

"Let's go then." In an uncommon act he set his hand gently on Hiroki's arm to guide him away. Hiroki blushed at the touch and the thrill that this contact sent spinning through him. Still, he turned his back proudly on Yokozawa, after offering one last frown, and walked away with Akihiko, managing to keep his step steady until just before the apartment's entry.

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><p>Fifteen minutes later, Yokozawa looked up. It was all he could do to hold his face steady and not allow the wild relief he felt to show when Takano suddenly appeared at the top of the stairs.<p>

It had taken all his reserves not to rush upstairs and check on Takano as soon as that obnoxious brunet and Usami were out of sight. He had only managed to refrain knowing how pissed off Takano would be if he intruded (not that this always stopped him). This was something that had happened far more than once before.

Seeing Yokozawa waiting, Takano let out an audible sigh. He moved as nonchalantly as he could as he descended. Yokozawa held the sash up as he slipped under it with an inebriated grace. He looked into the cool gray eyes for only an instant and then glanced away.

"I'm leaving." Takano stated this as though it had been Yokozawa that had dragged him to the party. Yokozawa said nothing to this; he just offered a slight nod. The two men silently made their way to the entry and retrieved their things. Within a few minutes the pair were out on street below.

Takano breathed deeply, the crisp air helping to clear his fuzzy head. "Give me a smoke," he demanded.

Yokozawa's brows rose at the order.

"I only had two left in my pack and I smoked them both upstairs." Takano's growl was just slightly softer.

Yokozawa fished in his jacket pocket. He studied Takano as they walked. He located his cigarettes and noted he was getting low himself. He pulled a smoke from the pack his with mouth and then extended the crumpled container with the remaining fags to Takano.

"What?"

Takano was uncomfortable with how Yokozawa was silently scrutinizing him. He took the offered pack and pulled out a cigarette.

Yokozawa frowned as he watched Takano slip the remaining smokes into his own jacket pocket. His annoyance at this habit caused him to be bolder than usual. This, or it could have been the several drinks he'd had himself by that point. The business student stopped. He looked at Takano appraisingly.

"I can't tell if you're limping or staggering, Masamune," he offered mildly.

Takano was unaccustomed to the flush that filled his cheeks at Yokozawa's comment. He distracted himself by patting down his pockets.

"That's none of your business!"

"Ummmm…" Yokozawa hummed, dropping his eyes as he lit his cigarette. He raised them when he heard Takano utter a frustrated "Fuck!"

"I think I must have left my lighter back at the party."

"Really?" Yokozawa sounded completely disinterested as he made an obvious display of returning his lighter back into his pocket.

Takano frowned at this sudden insubordination.

He shocked Yokozawa then by lurching forward and grabbing the man's lapel. He pressed the tip of their cigarettes together; it was Takano's second indirect kiss of the evening. He pulled away when his smoke finally caught.

"I'm fucking you when we get back to my apartment, Takafumi."

Yokozawa's eyes widened at this sudden declaration. "You're drunk!" he snorted.

Takano's voice was emotionless; amber-eyes pierced him.

"Does that really matter?"

The slight bit of levity that had reigned in Yokozawa's eyes instantly evaporated as clouds of solemn sorrow rolled back in. Yokozawa blew a rolling ribbon of smoke into the dark air.

"No, I suppose it doesn't," he murmured beginning to walk forward.

Takano soon joined him again and the two men traveled silently together. After a few minutes Takano breathed a long sigh.

"Just know this changes nothing: it doesn't mean anything." He purposely looked away from Yokozawa as he said this.

"It never does, does it?" Yokozawa's voice was resigned and surprising gentle. He knew what his unrequited said wasn't true: it did have meaning. It meant that Takano was trying to regain some of the pride he'd lost with whatever happened between him and the brunet at the party.

If it would assuage him, Yokozawa didn't mind giving up some of his own pride. After all he loved Takano and this had reduced the stock of his ego (at least in the case of Takano) to a rather cheap commodity.

Takano glanced over, both pained and relieved by Yokozawa's easy acceptance. Without any further conversation they continued moving in the direction of the train station.

"I'm hailing a cab." Yokozawa broke their silence with this unexpected declaration.

Despite the fact he knew Takano didn't love him, he was now anxious to get back to the man's apartment; his appetite suddenly stirred by the promise of the flesh he so desperately hungered for, not caring that it would undoubtedly be served to him cold.

"We'll split the fare then." Takano watched Yokozawa's eyes light with surprise at the offer. After what he'd put the man through at the party and planned to put him through yet, it was the least he could do, besides his ass still ached and he didn't want to keep walking.

He watched as Yokozawa reached out and a taxi soon stopped.

Takano followed Yokozawa silently into the cab. The night was still relatively young and he still had several hours to dedicate to making more regrets before midnight struck and delivered him into the hours of another new and desperate day.

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><p><strong>NEW AN: <strong>

**Sana Lama Samaha- Glad you like the fire in this fic. Thank you again also for the lovely Uke Flu review for Cerberus.**

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><p><strong>OLD AN: <strong>

**The last chapter will be all Akihiko and Hiroki and a brief omake. (I know you're shaking your heads at this… omake after all this angst… Yep, I shall endeavor a little bitter levity ;)**

**I wanted to thank Mini Blue Skirt, Joan Incarnate, The Black Flamingo 101, Soulfighter 17, Quorra Inc and Puppyfacetwo for all your comments on the last chapter which, based on the limited feedback, has to be my least popular lemon ever. (Sort of saddens me, as I think it is my favorite that I have written.) I am not sure again if this is due to the transgressive nature of this fic, the fact it messes with people's OTPs, or that this citrus was particularly bitter. (Writing a lemon sans love is no easy thing). But thank you again, my dear reader/reviewers, for your open minds and the thoughtful comments. They were very much appreciated.**


	8. Chapter 8: Confessions

**College Daze**

**Chapter Eight: Confessions**

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><p>Hiroki followed Akihiko out of the party. He had his hands shoved in his pockets and kept his eyes down on the ground. This was helping him to keep his steps relatively steady.<p>

"Do you want to wait here while I get the car?" Akihiko asked taking his elbow again. Hiroki's eyes flashed in irritation as he drew his arm away.

"I'm not an invalid; I can walk just fine. I've been doing it for years you know!"

Akihiko cocked a brow at him.

"You don't say? Because I could swear by how you're swaying that this was a relatively new endeavor for you, Old Man." Despite his light tone, Akihiko's expression was clearly unamused. Hiroki said nothing he just scowled at Akihiko before he started off walking in the direction that they'd parked.

"Kamijou!" Akihiko called out behind him.

"What!" Hiroki snapped without turning around.

"The car is this way."

Hiroki stopped in his tracks. He would have shaken his head at his stupidity, but he was already so dizzy.

"God damn it," he muttered under his breath. He turned around to see Akihiko walking the opposite direction.

Even if Akihiko hadn't used his last name instead of his first, Hiroki would have known his friend was annoyed with him. Especially as the law student didn't wait for him, but instead continued heading towards the car. Hiroki supposed he should try and catch up, but his pride refused to allow him to chase after Akihiko.

_In such an obvious way, anyways_.

Hiroki soon realized too that even if he wanted to hurry, he daren't try at the moment as his steps were becoming increasingly unsteady. When he finally reached the Akihiko, his friend still hadn't cooled. He stood there stiffly smoking a cigarette rather than leaning against the car. Even in his compromised state Hiroki understood immediately this was yet another signal of Akihiko's displeasure.

Feeling even more flustered, Hiroki scowled as Akihiko opened the passenger door.

"I could have done that myself," he grumbled as he tumbled into his seat, sitting down hard. Once settled, he slumped down slightly in the seat crossing his arms over his chest.

Akihiko closed the door harder that he needed to, causing Hiroki to start. Dark eyes tracked his friend's silvered visage as the young author walked around the front of the car and then climbed into the driver's seat.

Hiroki shivered as Akihiko cracked all the windows allowing the cold night air to creep in.

Akihiko pulled out and soon they were swallowed up in the city's late night traffic. The pair rode for some time in silence, the tension speaking volumes for both. Finally, Hiroki couldn't bear it any longer. Though it vexed him to admit it he finally complained.

"Akihiko, I'm cold."

Akihiko looked over at Hiroki impassively. "You're always cold."

"Yeah, well it doesn't help when you have the God damn windows down and it's freezing!" Hiroki hit the door control for his window rolling it up.

Akihiko's brow furrowed. "Excuse me, Hiroki, but personally I don't happen to find the scent of sex and alcohol a particularly palatable cologne unless I'm the one wearing it."

"Asshole," Hiroki muttered, stung by Akihiko's words but currently at a loss for any more eloquent retort. Stopped at a light, Akihiko looked over. A look of concern washed over his handsome face.

"Honestly, Hiroki, I know it's none of my business, but what were you thinking? I don't understand what compels you to do that sort of thing."

Hiroki looked at Akihiko incredulously. "For someone so bright, you're incredibly stupid, Akihiko." He student watched his friend's brow rise back up curiously.

Soon, determining that Hiroki was not going to be any more forthcoming, Akihiko uttered a deep sigh and turned his eyes back to the road. After another minute his hand traveled over and he raised his own window, then he raised the heat in the car.

Together they traveled in silence. Eventually, however, Akihiko was startled by the sound of Hiroki's quiet growl beside him.

"I still can't believe you did that, Akihiko. How many years had we planned to study together?"

Akihiko looked at Hiroki perplexed. "What in the blazes are you talking about, Old Man, or has the alcohol finally made you delirious?"

Hiroki's eyes met and challenged his friend's lavender gaze. "I'm talking about you taking up law to get Takahashi into that club."

Akihiko's usually cool eyes widened at Hiroki's assertion. "Who told you?"

"Does it matter?" Hiroki asked bitterly, pained that Akihiko didn't even try to deny the truth of it.

Akihiko frowned as he reached for a new cigarette. "Honestly, Hiroki, what's the difference? Literature or Law, I just need a degree to keep my father off my back. I 'm a writer, that's what I have always planned to be. I'm never going to use that degree anyway, but Takahiro, that course of study means everything to him. It's going to change his life and if I can help him, then why shouldn't I?"

Hiroki looked at Akihiko with an expression of sad disbelief.

"You shouldn't have done it because you made a pact with me years ago that we would do this together. Does your word mean nothing to you?" Hiroki felt himself blush as he said this. If it hadn't been for the alcohol, he would have never spoken so plainly.

Akihiko studied Hiroki, "Are you serious, Old Man? I mean we're still going to the same school… It's not as if we never see each other or are no longer friends just because we're not taking the same major."

Hiroki looked away from Akihiko. He fought to hold back the wave of emotion these words caused him. "Stop the car," he said his voice barely a whisper.

"What?" Akihiko's voice was filled with confusion.

"I said stop the damn car!" Hiroki suddenly shouted. "I'm getting out and walking home. I can't bear to be near you at the moment!"

"Hiroki," Akihiko's low voice took on its most soothing tone as he slowed the car down.

"No! I'm serious Akihiko, let me out here! I'll find my own way home!"

Akihiko's next words carried a tone of melancholic humor. "Well, that shouldn't be too hard as we're here now."

Hiroki's head shot up. He felt himself blush further as Akihiko maneuvered his car into a space near his building. Hiroki once again cursed his abysmal timing. Furious with this new humiliation, he opened the car door and tried to extricate himself from its interior before Akihiko had even entirely finished parking.

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><p>Hiroki stumbled as he headed towards the building's exterior elevator, not trusting himself to the stairs at the moment. He heard a car door slam behind him and Akihiko's rapid footsteps as the man strode to catch up with him.<p>

Hiroki felt Akihiko's hand on his shoulder. He wrenched it out from under the cool hand and almost knocked himself over in the process.

"Leave me, Akihiko! I don't need your jokes or your pity!"

"I'm not here to give you either, Hiroki!" Akihiko growled with barely hidden frustration."I'm here to make sure you get yourself put away properly!"

"Well, I don't need that either!" Hiroki shouted as he headed into the elevator. He scowled furiously at Akihiko when his friend followed him into the car.

"I'm sure you don't need it, Hiroki. But please allow me to do it. I mean after all, how many times have you put me away yourself?"

Hiroki stopped mid-growl at Akihiko's question. It was true that he was usually the "dry" man on their outings as, while he did get drunk occasionally, normally he didn't like how free alcohol made his tongue and he always found his memory fuzzy if not absent the next morning. Plus, he certainly didn't relish feeling out of control as he did now.

Over the last several years, he had, in fact, put a drunken _Lord Usami_ to bed countless times. Recalling this now offered the barest of balms to his wounded pride.

"Besides, it's the least I can do, since I'm obviously to blame for you being so upset, Hiroki," Akihiko said earnestly, his voice rich with concern. He held the door open to the elevator when it stopped.

Hiroki eyed Akihiko suspiciously trying to determine the authenticity of his words. Finally he shrugged.

"Fine. Suit yourself."

Akihiko watched Hiroki then waver out and down the walk to his apartment. He caught Hiroki's arm a minute later and this time he did not allow himself to be shaken off.

"Sincerely, Hiroki, I'm sorry. I should have told you."

"Yes, you should have! We're supposed to be friends after all, Akihiko." Hiroki's grumble had become less violent. He cursed again, however, as after fishing his keys from his pocket; he dropped them on the walkway outside his door.

Akihiko bent and retrieved them before Hiroki had the chance to lean over. He unlocked the door and pushed it open. He followed his inebriated companion into the darkened apartment. Hiroki kicked his shoes off in the entry, pleased he was able to do so without falling over. He shed his coat and dropped it on the floor. Akihiko walked behind him, his brow rising as he watched Hiroki pull his shirt off over his head revealing his lean, hard torso.

"Where are you going?" Akihiko trailed behind as Hiroki veered off down the hall.

"I'm going to take a piss, if that's okay with you," Hiroki muttered stepping in to the bathroom. "You're welcome to come watch if you want."

Akihiko sighed as he leaned against the door frame. He wondered if he was this obnoxious when Hiroki did this for him.

"No thank you. I'm going to get you some water. And where do you keep your analgesic?"

"Cupboard over the sink in the kitchen," Hiroki slurred as he shouted over the sound of his piss.

Akihiko shook his head as he moved toward the kitchen. Hiroki had left the bathroom door open and he could still hear the force of his friend's stream from where he stood at the counter. They had often joked as children about Hiroki's horse-like bladder. Akihiko had just finished running tap in the kitchen when he heard the tap start and stop in the bathroom and watched Hiroki stumble across the hall into his bedroom.

Entering the bedroom Akihiko found Hiroki sprawled on his back on his futon; one lean arm draped over his eyes. His lavender gaze traveled the length of his friend's taut torso: Hiroki had left his trousers unfastened. Despite himself Akihiko felt his pulse quicken at this display of masculine beauty.

"Come on, sit up," Akihiko cajoled, pushing his inappropriate inclinations to the side. "You need to drink some water and take some aspirin before you pass out, it will help you not feel so shitty in the morning. That's what you always tell me anyways, isn't it?"

After a few moments of snarling, as when Hiroki didn't move, Akihiko grabbed his legs and pulled them off over the edge of the bed, Hiroki finally reluctantly complied to the orders. His slightly glazed eyes looked at Akihiko questioningly when man bent down and tugged at the legs of his pants.

"Come on and kick yourself out of these," Akihiko coaxed, using the phrase his nanny had when he was a child.

Hiroki cocked his head to the side. "I didn't realize guilt made you act so maternal Akihiko." Then he hiccuped slightly and added, "In fact I didn't realize you ever even felt guilt at all."

Akihiko frowned at Hiroki's comment, feeling wounded. This wasn't something he ever expected to hear from his best friend.

"I told you I was sorry, Hiroki. Honestly I can't imagine why it meant so much to you," he sighed.

"Because I love you, Akihiko," Hiroki sighed back as he kicked his last foot out of his trousers.

Akihiko looked at Hiroki sitting on the edge of his futon, naked but for his boxers. How he managed to look simultaneously so fierce and so vulnerable was beyond Akihiko, but it was that very quality that had first struck him about Hiroki when they were children. Akihiko took a deep breath, then he moved over and sat down on the futon next to his friend.

"I love you too Hiroki," he said quietly.

"No."

"No, what?" Akihiko sounded confused.

"No, you don't love me." Hiroki exhaled a long breath as he leaned over and ran his hands through his wild brown locks.

"I do love you, Hiroki, you're my oldest and best friend." Akihiko reached over and ran a cool hand through dark hair, displacing Hiroki's hands.

"You know we go through this every time we're together and you get too much drink in you."

Hiroki raised his head and cast a skeptical eye at Akihiko. "We do?"

"Ummm," Akihiko acknowledged.

"Do I tell you how I love you then?" Hiroki asked curiously, despite the horror Akihiko's assertion caused him. Hiroki's words sounded thicker than usual, but Akihiko couldn't tell if that was from alcohol or emotion.

"No," Akihiko said simply.

"Would you like to know?"

Akihiko shook his head sadly. "Not really."

Hiroki looked away blushing furiously. "Well that's for the best, I suppose." He suddenly sounded very tired.

"I suppose so," Akihiko agreed, his own tone slightly weary.

Then before Akihiko knew what hit him, Hiroki was suddenly upon him. He found his mouth captured in a crushing kiss. The frantic passion and desperate strength of it overwhelmed him and Akihiko found himself opening up and swept away in heat of Hiroki's liquored lips.

Hiroki pushed Akihiko onto his back on the futon, pinning the man beneath his bare torso. His fingers twined in Akihiko's thick silvered-hair. Hei ravished Akihiko's mouth for several slow minutes. Then as suddenly as the onslaught had begun, it ceased.

Hiroki broke the kiss and pushed himself up off his unrequited. He slid, sitting, back over to the edge of the bed.

"We do this every time I get drunk?" Hiroki asked softly, twisting his longer fingered hands together. Akihiko's head was still spinning, his breath short from the kiss. He sat up slowly not saying anything, but he nodded.

"Except for the kiss. That was new," he finally answered.

"And I never remember it after?"

"Not so far, no."

"What happens if someday I do?" Hiroki asked.

"Even if you did, Hiroki, would you ever admit it?" Akihiko queried back. His senses still reeling, his arousal sparked by his friend's intimate oral embrace.

Akihiko watched Hiroki for several silent minutes.

"You should go home now," Hiroki's voice was hushed.

This response stunned Akihiko.

"I think you're right," he finally whispered after another few moments of awkward silence. As he pushed himself up off the bed, Akihiko watched Hiroki lay down, turn on his side, and flip the coverlet over himself. Hiroki pulled a pillow over his dark head.

"I'll see you around on campus next week," Akihiko offered lamely. When there was no response he shook his head and headed for the bedroom door. He had almost reached the doorway when Hiroki's muffled voice stopped him.

"You know, some day you should just let me fuck you, Akihiko, and get you out of my system for good." Akihiko looked back at the blanket wrapped figure. His hands moved unconsciously to his lips, where the burn of Hiroki's fevered passion still lingered.

"Goodnight, Hiroki," Akihiko softly stepped out and closed the door behind him.

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><p>Outside the apartment a few minutes later, Akihiko leaned against Hiroki's apartment door and lit up a new cigarette. His oldest friend's words echoed in his mind. Feeling the fag between his kiss bruised lips, Akihiko realized that maybe someday he would have to take Hiroki up on that proposition.<p>

Akihiko pulled the smoke from his lips and studied its glowing tip in the dim light of the walkway.

_Then maybe we could both extinguish the embers that lie there, smoldering in our hearts._

The thought brought a bitter smile to Akihiko's face. On that note, he pushed off the door and out into the darkness of the remaining night.

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><p><strong>NEW AN: Hope you're enjoying this X, I know you are out there reading…Yes, I know that I said I was turning in…Heh.<strong>

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><p><strong>OLD AN:<strong>

**Suprised?**

**I have always wanted to write a fic where it becomes clear that Akihko knows... has known... and carries on as though he is ignorant anyway, because he can't deal with the reality of Hiroki's love for him. So here it is.**

**Omake is next and then this fic is done.**


	9. Chapter 9: Conclusions

**College Daze**

**Chapter Nine: Conclusions**

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><p><strong>Ten years later…<strong>

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><p>It was a gala event for Marukawa publishing. The company had just recently celebrated a banner year with a number of their authors winning major awards across the boards, from novels to shoujo. Even the publishing house's scholastic office had published some papers that were gaining readership well beyond the ivory towers of academia. So the Isaka clan had decided to throw a huge party at the Teito Grand Hotel for all their authors and significant staff persons to celebrate.<p>

Though he wasn't an editor, Yokozawa had been invited to attend by Isaka Ryūichirō himself as he'd done such an exceptional job in the sales department that year. The sales manager had made his rounds early, spoken to everyone that was vital, and had paid all the appropriate respects. Just in case he might have missed someone, he scanned the crowds milling about, his keen gray eyes sorting and noting all the various attendants.

The party had been going on for some time now and a number of the guests were obviously feeling the effects of the open bar and the seemingly unending parade of champagne trays that had been circulating that evening.

_This is the point, when things are likely to really start getting interesting._

He, however, been rather modest in his consumption, as a few months back a night of despairing drunkenness had put him in a rather uncomfortable position. In fact, even now, many weeks later, the situation brought about by that night of inebriation persisted. And while it was no longer quite as "uncomfortable," per se, it was still certainly "different".

"Hey, Dark Horse!"

In response to both the nickname and the familiar feminine voice that called it, Yokozawa turned. There was only one person he knew at Marukawa who had the brass to call him that to his face. But then again Aikawa was also the editor who was known to regularly take her novelist the "great lord Usami" to task, so it was already understood she was fearless.

"Aikawa-san," Yokozawa nodded. Their friendship and drinking buddies' relationship had amicably endured for over decade now.

"Yokozawa-san, some of us will be leaving to go drinking shortly. You want to join us?

"Isn't that what you have been doing all night already, Aikawa-san? Drinking," There was the barest trace of reprimand in his usual growl.

"I'm surprised to hear you're cutting out. Shouldn't you be joined at the hip with that author of yours, making the circuit... especially after all his recent awards." Aikawa was not in the least put off by Yokozawa's gruff manner.

"My author's hip already is currently occupied," the editor giggled. Yokozawa followed her gaze and immediately recognized Usami Akihiko regally, but stealthily making his way towards the ballroom's exit. He didn't recognize, however, the slender teenager who was blushingly following behind the man.

Yokozawa's incredible faculty for recall had become honed, rather than diminished, over the years and while he didn't know who the boy with the novelist was, something about the youth's appearance sent an alarming twang through his memory.

"Usami Sensei reserved a suite here," Aikawa whispered conspiratorially. "Ah to be a fly on the wall," she sighed. "But then, if I know Sensei, I will be… when Yayaoi's next BL novel comes out." Aikawa's wine-bright eyes sparkled.

Yokozawa looked at Aikawa curiously, his stern face hiding his amusement at seeing the tenacious woman so tight. Normally when they'd go out, despite her diminutive stature, it was she drinking him under the table.

"Aikawa-san!" a drink warbled voice called and a moment later, Chiba, another female editor, this one from Sapphire, appeared by Aikawa's side. "Everyone's waiting for you over at the bar…" the woman's voice trailed off when she suddenly realized who it was Aikawa had been talking to.

"Oh… Yokozawa-san, so sorry to disturb," the woman breathed, suddenly flustered.

"That's alright. I was just about to take my leave." Yokozawa nodded.

Aikawa shot her stern friend a shrewd look. "I thought you'd be hobnobbing all evening. Are you and Takano-san doing something then, eh?" At this, Chiba's eyes lit up and Yokozawa grimaced: the Sapphire ladies couldn't see two men talking at all it seemed, without jumping to their BL influenced conclusions.

"I actually have not seen Takano this evening. Don't even know if he's here." Yokozawa said this more coldly than he'd intended. He'd been avoiding him ever since Takano had finally… irrevocably rejected him a few months earlier.

Aikawa's eyes widened at this. She had been so busy managing the details of Usami's upcoming awards ceremonies she hadn't spent much time with her comrade lately. Aikawa determined she would definitely need to take Yokozawa drinking later in the week for the details.

Chiba, however, despite her yaoi inclinations, knew nothing of the two men's complex dynamics. "Oh, Takano-san is over at the bar too with that new cutie editor of his," she burbled.

Seeing Yokozawa's expression darken at her words Chiba suddenly grew very nervous. "Um, Aikawa-san, let's go please. They're waiting on us."

Aikawa too had seen the momentary flicker of irritation before Yokozawa's stony mask slipped back into place. "I'll call you later, Yokozawa-san," she offered as she moved off with Chiba after a short bow. Yokozawa returned this. As he straightened his eyes followed the women over to a crowd of staff that welcomed the pair joyously into their ranks.

As the group departed, the crowd at the bar thinned considerably and there were only a few people left behind. Yokozawa noticed one, an incredibly tall, handsome young man with shaggy black hair he hadn't ever seen before, placing a drinks order. Try he might, however, Yokozawa could not help but feel his eyes pulled from watching the attractive giant over to where Takano was standing. He sighed when he saw the man.

Just as Chiba had said, that brat Onodera was standing there next to him.

Even though Yokozawa's life had changed immeasurably since their last conversation, he still felt a slight pang in his heart seeing the men together. The two were talking animatedly, arguing actually. This didn't surprise Yokozawa, knowing that for Takano that kind of exchange was considered foreplay.

Just then Yokozawa saw another man approach the bar, stepping over to the tall man who had just turned after picking up the two drinks he'd ordered. The sales manager's brow twitched as he recognized the fellow immediately: he was the current star of Marukawa's scholastic division, a young literature professor whose thesis had been published and which had already gone into an unheard of third printing within its first year.

Even if he hadn't known this, however, Yokozawa would have still recognized the professor immediately from an earlier encounter… much earlier.

After a decade, the man's appearance had hardly changed at all, though he looked a bit more polished in that evening's formal attire. It was that fucking brunet from that miserable night at an "M" University party he had Takano had long ago crashed. He remembered the man had been pining after Usami, but still had shown no compunction about fucking Takano.

Even with his tremendous recall, it was unlikely that under normal circumstances Yokozawa would have remembered a brief encounter like that from such a distant time ago. However, later that night, in one of the sparse couplings he had shared with his unrequited, Takano had been brutal as he sought to reclaim the pride he'd lost to the man earlier.

He had endured it, but it had almost ended their friendship.

_Almost._

A very faint blush crept up into Yokozawa's cheeks as he was treated to the recent and recurring revelation of how much he'd debased himself in his futile attempts over the years to lay claim to Takano's heart. He dropped his eyes reminding himself that now, however, he was moving on.

_Well, given my current situation, being "pulled on" might is more accurate._

Leaving this disconcerting train of thought behind, Yokozawa raised his eyes again and watched the brunet curiously. Seeing how the man was talking with the tall one next to him it was obvious that the now-professor had obviously found a way to move on himself.

Then Yokozawa's eyes widened slightly. He observed a clearly tipsy Onodera fall back as he was attempting to flee from his dispute with Takano. When he stumbled, Onodera bumped into the professor who had just recently taken his drink from the hand of his companion. Yokozawa watched with some delight as the drink spilled.

Witnessing the professor's annoyance and Onodera's awkward apologies pleased him immensely. Then he noticed Takano stepping up to intervene on Onodera's behalf. He was suddenly both anxious and curious to see if either man would remember the other. Unfortunately, he was robbed of knowing the outcome.

Yokozawa felt a familiar presence draw up behind him and a large hand placed on the small of his back. He turned quickly pushing the hand off, his eyes quickly scanning his surroundings to see if anyone had noticed.

"What are you doing? We're in public!" Kirishima's beaming face only brightened further at his ire.

"You're cute when you're annoyed. You know that, right?" Kirishima smirked.

"I am not cute. I am thirty years-old and I am working," Yokozawa growled.

"Always working, Yokozawa. This is supposed to be a party. Enough! I am leaving and I'm taking you with me." Kirishima smiled.

"I suppose I could leave." Despite his annoyance, Kirishima's smile always managed to move him _almost_ against his will. "Besides, it would be nice to see Hiyo-chan if she's not in bed yet."

"Ah… but we're not going home." Kirishima's eyes gleamed mischievously. "I booked us a room here for the night." Yokozawa's brow furrowed at this information, having no doubts about what an overnight stay would entail.

"What about Hiyori? You can't leave her all night by herself." Kirishima's smile broadened. His lover's concern for his daughter always warmed his heart.

"Hiyo is staying with my parents for the evening. My mother picked her up from school this afternoon."

"But she has that extra club trip tomorrow…" Yokozawa protested. Kirishima laughed.

"Already taken care of. Hiyori's best friend's mother is going and she will pick her up from my parent's in the morning." The tall editor nudged Yokozawa's ribs gently with his elbow. "Come on, Takafumi, you can't spend your whole life caring for others. Why don't you try letting someone else take care of you for a change?"

Yokozawa dropped his eyes at Kirishima's earnest words; he was still so unused to someone treasuring him. It made him nervous.

"Any other objections?" Kirishima challenged.

Yokozawa frowned. "I don't have a change of clothes or anything," he offered weakly.

"I thought you might say that, so I pulled a spare suit from your closet and grabbed your travel kit from the bathroom when I darted home to change before the party. They're in our suite."

Yokozawa said nothing to this. He was disconcerted that Kirishima had taken such liberties, though he supposed he should be used to it by now.

"Think of it as a honeymoon, Yokozawa... to follow up my proposal and your acceptance." Kirishima grinned wickedly. He chortled when he saw the other man's chagrin. Then Kirishima leaned in and whispered in Yokozawa's ear.

"Did I happen to mention I feel like bottoming tonight? If you're 'up' for it, that is." His hot breath tickled Yokozawa's ear. The promise held in Kirishima's teasing tone shot straight to Yokozawa's cock.

Kirishima stepped back, titling his head slightly to the side as he awaited his lover's response.

"Fine," Yokozawa mumbled, trying hard not to show how much the thought excited him.

"Let's go then," Kirishima laughed. "I'm rather impatient to feel that glorious cock of yours in my ass." The man started moving gracefully towards the followed a few moments after, hoping no one would notice how his cheeks burned.

Leaving the party, he was suddenly both surprised and pleased to note that he had made it all the way out into the hall before the thought to look back and see what happened between Takano and the brown-haired professor ever even crossed his mind.

* * *

><p>Takano had steered Ritsu to the bar. He'd managed to squire his junior around to all the appropriate people and Onodera had conducted himself well. Now Takano was focused on the second part of that evening's mission, which was getting Onodera drunk enough to weaken his resistance.<p>

There was an aspect of this that pissed Takano off. Though he and Ritsu had reached a new understanding in terms of their relationship, Onodera still seemed to feel he needed to fight off his amorous advances. While most times Takano rather enjoyed the challenge of this, there were others when he simply found it tiresome and tonight was one of these.

Thus, his plan.

Ritsu was a lightweight when it came to drinking. A couple beers, a single strong stiff drink and Onodera not only became much more compliant, but also far less inhibited about declaring his feelings. So now, after watching Ritsu down several glasses of champagne and shot of scotch, Takano was ready to make his move on his increasingly glaze-eyed junior, before Ritsu became incapacitated.

"Hey, Onodera, let's get out of here."

"I'll go, Takano-san," Ritsu replied seriously, though a slight hiccup stole a bit of his delivery's credibility. "But I'm going home by myself, thank you."

"You're in no shape to travel alone."

"Like traveling with you would be any safer?" Ritsu snorted. "Besides you've had more to drink than I have. So if I was drunk... which I'm not... you would have to be way more drunk than me at this point." Ritsu drew himself up proudly at what he felt was a well delivered and airtight argument.

"Ah, well I anticipated you might say something like that and so I have come up with what I think is a reasonable solution to assure both our safety." Takano's amber eyes sported a rather feral glint.

"Oh?" Ritsu had meant for this single syllable to sound challenging. He blushed hotly to find instead that when he issued it, it sounded far more uncertain.

"Ummm," Takano took a sip of whiskey, enjoying the burn. He had not really had nearly as much to drink as Onodera assumed. "I booked us a room here. So we need go no farther than the 17th floor."

"What?" Onodera gaped. "No way in hell I'm staying with you here! What if someone from Marukawa figured out we shared a room!"

"Keep talking that loudly and there's no doubt that'll happen. Otherwise don't worry, I made the reservation in my other name."

"No!"

"Oh, come on, Onodera," Takano wheedled. "You can hardly stand as it is now. Let's just go up and you can sleep it off until you can at least manage yourself."

"Sleep?" Ritsu snorted.

"I know you and if you're with me, we'll be doing anything but sleeping. I have some overtime to do tomorrow and I don't need a sore backside distracting me when I am trying to get my work done! Besides I can manage fine!" Onodera turned to storm off, but before he'd accomplished this, one foot caught on the other and he fell back, colliding with a body behind him.

"What the hell?" A cross voice sounded as a drink sloshed all over the cuff and down the front of an expensive dress shirt.

* * *

><p>Hiroki was the on the edge of his temper, more so than usual, as he was not really one for big social events. This said, his limit on behaving charmingly had been reached about an hour ago. The only thing that had been keeping him civil was the fact that Nowaki hadn't had to work that night and so had been able to accompany him.<p>

Hiroki wanted to be sure and conduct himself properly, despite his own distaste of such functions, as coming to a party like this was a big deal for Nowaki and he didn't want to ruin it him; besides Nowaki was so proud of his accomplishment. While he'd never say it, this warmed Hiroki's heart immeasurably, and so he also didn't want to do anything to diminish this either.

Hiroki was caught up in a group discussion, so Nowaki went to get them a drink from the bar, as neither of them really cared for the taste of champagne. Suddenly Hiroki had found himself in a very awkward situation. He noticed a petite young man in the group looking at him rather peculiarly. Hiroki figured the fellow couldn't be more than eighteen and wondered if the youth might not be one of his students: he looked somewhat familiar.

It was only after getting the man's business card and hearing how long the he had been with the company that he realized how old the baby-faced editor was. Then Hiroki had an unexpected memory of one long and lost weekend back when he was an undergrad and realized that this Kisa Shouta person was the other party that had been involved.

What made it worse was that something obviously sparked Kisa's recollection at about the same time, given the sudden wide-eyed look of recognition and fierce blush that occurred simultaneously. It had taken all Hiroki's waning reserves not to just bolt from the conversation but he had somehow managed to stay present. He excused himself from the group at his earliest possible convenience to go look for Nowaki.

This wasn't the first time something like this had happened to him. His younger years had been rather unruly and he'd sampled a lot of different flesh trying to abolish his taste for Akihiko. For years now, however, Nowaki had been his staple and Hiroki found any reminders of his earlier sexual gluttony incredibly distasteful.

Hiroki felt a sense of sweet relief wash over him when he saw Nowaki still standing at the bar. At the moment, fueled by his memories, he just wanted to grab Nowaki and get the hell out of there and back into their quiet life.

"Hiro-san!" Nowaki greeted happily, his blue eyes lit with delight. Nowaki was high on the all the stimulation of the party: the beautiful venue, all the conversation, seeing his amazing lover looking so sharp and finally getting the recognition he deserved.

The sparkle in his eyes dimmed ever so slightly when Nowaki quickly registered that his Hiro-san was distressed about something. "Everything okay, Hiro-san?" he asked softly as he passed Hiroki the drink he'd ordered for him. Nowaki's eyes widened a bit when Hiroki took the glass and downed a sizable gulp of the liquor. To his increased admiration of the man, Nowaki knew that Hiroki had abstained from drinking for the majority of the evening wanting to keep his faculties keen.

"Everything is fine, Nowaki." Though given his most recent "blast from the past" it was all Hiroki could do not to break down and beg Nowaki's forgiveness. If he had only known earlier the purity of the love the younger man would someday offer him, he would have been content to never have touched another man previously.

"Look, I've had enough. After this drink why don't we go home and continue the celebration there?" Hiroki blushed slightly as he made this suggestion.

Nowaki's pleasure at this offer from his usually reticent partner was obvious. "Really, Hiro-san?" he breathed happily.

"Ummm," Hiroki acknowledged, raising his glass to take another drink. He usually wasn't so forward, but Nowaki's touch was the only antidote he knew that could save him from the poison of his past. Just before the glass reached his lips, someone crashed into him.

"What the hell?" Hiroki barked as his drink sloshed over, soaking the front of his shirt.

Regaining his balance, Onodera turned and was appalled to see what his clumsiness had wrought. He was even more mortified when he realized who it was he'd crashed into. He had been introduced to Kamijou-sensei during the brief time he'd edited for Usami Akihiko.

Even more recently, however, he had read the man's book and had been in awe of the depth of thought and poetic style of the prose. In light of this, his gaff was even more embarrassing. Ritsu immediately adopted a deep bow.

"Ah, Kamijou Sensei, I am so, so sorry! Please forgive me!"

Hiroki's first response was to lay into the idiot who'd knocked into him, but then he felt a warm hand brush the back of his shoulder. He turned and saw Nowaki looking at him with an expression of mild worry.

Seeing this, Hiroki dropped his eyes looking down at his soiled shirt. Despite the fact he wanted to lash out, as usual, Nowaki grounded him. He was also aware that more than a little bit of his irritation was still being fueled by his unwanted memory of the editor, Kisa. So rather than allow himself to be outraged, Hiroki merely permitted himself a sigh of annoyance.

Then looking up again at his madly apologizing offender, Hiroki realized he knew him. It was Onodera Ritsu, a young editor who had managed Akihiko for a bit and whose father owned another significant publishing house. Hiroki breathed another deep sigh, but this time it was of relief as he imagined the future ramifications that being rude to someone so significant in publishing might have brought about.

"It's okay, Onodera-san," Hiroki growled, trying to smooth the harsh edges from his voice as much as possible. You tripped, neh? It happens to all of us occasionally."

Onodera straightened slightly, his large green eyes raised hesitantly. "Still, I'm so sorry Kamijou-sensei, please…" He scrambled for his Marukawa card and offered it tentatively. "You must let me pay to replace your shirt or at least for the cleaning."

"No, need, Onodera-san," Hiroki said graciously.

Takano had stepped up beside Onodera ready to jump in, in case there was going to be an altercation. His eyes widened when he heard Ritsu address the man as Kamijou. He had heard the name in relation to the success of the scholar's title but had no idea this was the same man… the one he'd met for that brief moment so long ago.

While there were countless trysts over those lost years that never even stirred in his memory now, Takano's brief interlude with Kamijou was not one of them. He had felt the effects of that night profoundly. Studying the man before him Takano saw Kamijou had changed little in appearance since the time they'd met almost a decade earlier.

"Kamijou-san?"

Hiroki looked over at the tall man standing next to Onodera.

"Yes," he nodded. Seeing the way that Takano was looking at him, Hiroki cocked his head slightly. "Do I know you?"

Takano felt himself immediately irritated by the question. He gave Kamijou a hard look trying to decipher if the man was toying with him. He was shocked to see no guile in the man's dark eyes, only mild curiosity.

Then finding Onodera and the tall man standing behind Kamijou looking at him as well, Takano suddenly realized the precariousness of his situation. What could he say in front of Onodera and this other man who seemed to be attached to Kamijou in some way? _"Hey, why don't you remember fucking me?"_ To do such a thing would be madness.

Takano shook his dark head. "My mistake. Sorry," he apologized. "You looked like someone I knew."

Hiroki nodded in acceptance, though his brow furrowed. Knowing he was being rude, but suddenly not caring, Takano grabbed Onodera's arm.

"If you just send the bill for your shirt to our department, we'll take care of it. In the meantime will you please excuse me as I need to speak with my junior."

Hiroki and Nowaki watched as Takano began dragging Onodera physically away.

"Let go of me Takano-san!" Onodera was even more mortified now by Takano's actions than he had been by his own: at least his affront had been accidental.

"Like I said before, you can't even walk by yourself. So embarrassing. I am taking you to our room if I have to pick you up and carry you there!" Takano growled back.

"I am not a pile of books, Takano-san! You can't just carry me away whenever it suits you!" Onodera muttered through clenched teeth, though he knew he already he was going to end up on the seventeenth floor anyways.

"I'll pick you up when it suits me, Onodera." Takano suddenly slipped back into the aplomb that he knew drove Ritsu mad. His blood was fully up now and between Ritsu's resistance and the bitter memory of Kamijou, Takano knew his recovered "Oda" was in for the most exquisite thrashing.

* * *

><p>Hiroki caught this conversation as neither man had moved very far past him and both were speaking rather loudly. Hearing Takano's words about "pick up" and his delivery; Hiroki was treated to his second nasty jolt for the evening. This happened occasionally with his drunken omissions of memory and there were times Hiroki had wondered if there was anyone in Tokyo he hadn't fucked when he was younger. He dropped his head as the two men moved off still bickering. It was no surprise now as to why the man had looked at him so fiercely.<p>

Then Hiroki felt a warm gentle hand brush his shoulder again. Nowaki's sweet voice sounded beside him. "That was very kind of you not to make a big deal about your new shirt. I'm so proud of you, Hiro-san." Hiroki didn't raise his eyes. His cheeks heated at the unmerited praise, especially when what he really deserved was Nowaki's rebuke. Then Hiroki looked up at; as always the warmth in Nowaki's gaze melted him.

Early on in their relationship, Nowaki had told him that he would never ask about his past and Nowaki had faithfully kept his word throughout all their years together. Telling Nowaki any of this now would just wound him and that was the last thing Hiroki wanted to do. Hiroki realized he only knew one way to fix this, for both of them.

"Come on, Nowaki," he growled. After turning and setting his spill-emptied glass on the bar behind him, he took Nowaki's hand in his and pulled the man after him, not caring who might see them.

"Hiro-san?"

Nowaki followed, confused by his partner's sudden movement. Nowaki was even more perplexed when Hiroki pulled him to the hotel's registry.

"Please excuse me, but do you have any rooms open. I realize it's rather short notice," Hiroki asked one of the ever-smiling women behind the marble counter.

The woman pecked at her keyboard. "Well, there are still a few suites available."

Nowaki's eyes widened as he watched Hiroki pull out his wallet and offer the woman a card without asking a price.

"Number of occupants?"

"Two," Hiroki's eyes drifted over Nowaki without even the barest trace of a blush.

As soon as they were checked in, Hiroki took the guest key first and Nowaki's hand second. He pulled the stunned younger man behind him.

"Hiro-san," Nowaki murmured once they were in the elevator and headed to the seventeenth floor. "What are we doing?" As they were the elevator's only occupants, Hiroki turned to Nowaki. He grabbed the sides of Nowaki's coat, simultaneously pulling the man closer to him and slightly down. One hand left the jacket and ran down Nowaki's lean belly, catching in the band of his trousers. Hiroki leaned in closer and growled into Nowaki's ear.

"I need to fuck you right now Nowaki! I can't wait until we get back to the apartment." He punctuated this with a sucking kiss just below Nowaki's ear lobe.

Nowaki straightened in surprise at this declaration. A split-second later the door opened and he found himself being lead down the corridor by Hiro-san's hand still gripping the front of his trousers. Not that he was complaining.

* * *

><p><strong>This was supposed to be an omake, but it came out more like another chapter and not nearly as funny as I had hoped either. Please forgive me but I can't seem to escape the angst these days. I will make up for it with some bite sized lemon tarts in the next chapter.<strong>

**Thank you for reading and reviewing.**


	10. Chapter 10: Afterglow

**College Daze**

**Chapter 10: Afterglow**

* * *

><p>Misaki's palms pressed against the cool glass of one of the suite's huge windows. He tried to pull back, but much larger hands covered his, holding him in place.<p>

"Please, Usagi-san, not again," he gasped, as hot labored breaths ghosted over his neck making all the short hairs there stand on end. "Not here. Please. Someone will see."

The hands pinning him suddenly slipped down Misaki's thin, bare arms. Usami had stripped his upper body within two minutes of them entering the suite. Misaki groaned as these cool hands ran over the heated skin of his back before sliding round to the front to begin pinching his hard nipples.

"Unngh, please, Usagi-san," he begged.

"I don't care if all of Tokyo sees," Akihiko murmured, after placing a sucking kiss on his boy's slender neck.

"I want everyone to know just how much I love my Misaki." His hands drifted down and began to make short work of undoing Misaki's belt buckle. With a metallic clink and a fabric whisper Misaki's pants quickly fell, pooling around the trembling boy's ankles. His briefs followed, pulled down mere seconds after.

Misaki's next noise was a half gasp, half sob as one of Akihiko's now heated hands grasped his semi erect cock and began to stroke him to full hardness. He felt Usagi-san place another nipping kiss just below one of his ears.

"I have waited too long for love. Now that I have you, Misaki, I am never going to let you go." Misaki found himself bound to the man even tighter by the silken tones of Usagi-san's whispered voice.

* * *

><p>Braced on lean arms Yokozawa looked down on the slick, heaving chest of the man beneath him, amazed as always by the taut, muscular beauty of his lover's body. Yokozawa marveled at how much it moved him to be able to think the word "lover" (as he would never say it) and know that for the first time in his life the term was true.<p>

He pulled out of this place of thoughtful revelation, wanting to be present in this moment with Kirishima. Yokozawa watched the other man's normally sly face grimace as he slowly pushed into Kirishima's tight ass. The two men panted and grunted as Yokozawa slowly slid in further.

When he was finally ensconced, both he and Kirishima breathed a sigh in unison. Yokozawa watched Kirishima's marvelous chestnut-colored eyes gaze up at him and he was amazed that even now, the gleam of humor had not left them.

As much as he wanted to begin moving, Yokozawa held off, allowing the other man a little more time to adjust. Then he felt Kirishima's long muscular legs wrap around his waist and tighten, drawing him in deeper.

"Come on Mama-san, show Papa how it's done," Kirishima teased. His light chuckle turned into a pleasured moan however as Yokozawa thrust forward provoked by his words.

These sounds of bliss continued as Yokozawa growled, "How… many… times… have… I… told… you… not… to…" he punctuated each word with a pulse of his hips. He stopped in his motion however when Kirishima gasped out, completing the sentence before he did.

"Not to tell you how much I love you? Ah, I can't help myself because I do love you, Takafumi."

With these words a warm front moved into the stormy surface of Yokozawa's eyes and precipitation gathered in their corners. Kirishima saw this and his dark gaze glowed with understanding. He offered his lover a sweet smile free from all it usual mischief. Silently Kirishima reached his long arms around Yokozawa's neck and pulled the Dark Horse down to him in an impassioned embrace.

* * *

><p>Ritsu lay curled into the shelter of Takano's body. In his inebriated state he was mildly aware of the irony as the same man had just been the sexual storm that had pummeled him so soundly. He closed his large green eyes as the strong arm draped across his waist, pulled him tighter into his lover's warmth.<p>

With bigger man's chest pressed against his back, Onodera could feel Takano's heart still beating rapidly from his erotic if he could read his junior's mind, Takano brushed his lips across the nape of Onodera's neck.

"Do you feel that Ritsu? That beat is for you and no one else," he whispered.

The liquor coursing through Onodera's veins made him brash. Without opening his eyes he muttered, "I could say the same for the throbbing in my ass, Takano-san."

Takano propped himself up slightly on one arm and leaned over. He softly kissed away a tear that had remained caught in the corner of Onodera's eye. He ran a gentle hand through Ritsu's dark, sweat-damp hair.

Onodera's eyes opened slowly, despite his surprise at this tender response to his accusation. He'd expected it to incite Takano into another flurry of rampant ravishing.

In truth, though as much as he resisted, Ritsu craved this fury more than anything. It was only the force of this that managed to drive away the fear that still lingered in his heart that someday Takano might change his mind and decide to _truly_ reject him.

Ritsu turned his head and despite the color rushing to pink his cheeks, he managed to meet Takano's gaze evenly for once. The earnestness in the amber eyes he met overwhelmed him.

"Make no mistake Ritsu," Takano whispered as his hand dropped from ruffling Onodera's hair and the back of his fingers lightly grazed the younger man's cheek.

"You are my first, last, and only love." Takano leaned in as he said this capturing Ritsu's mouth in a long and lingering kiss.

* * *

><p>The water had been running for almost an hour now in the suite Hiroki had rented. Behind the steamed glassed doors of the huge shower, he sat on the tile floor his back pressed against one of the walls, completely spent.<p>

Nowaki's lean muscular thighs straddled his. Hiroki's relaxing cock was still embedded inside him. Nowaki looked down at the thick fluid of his own release that lingered on Hiro-san's taut belly untouched by the streaming water. He drew a long finger down following the paths of his seeded trails.

"You're amazing, Hiro-san," he whispered, still feeling the internal warmth of his orgasm and the comforting heat of Hiroki's now quiet cock even more so than the multitude of hot drops from the shower kissing his skin.

Nowaki looked up mildly shocked when Hiroki shifted and gently took his face in his hands.

"That was a hell of a ride, Nowaki. You're pretty amazing yourself," Hiroki whispered. He hoped that the pink of his steamed skin hid the blush he felt as he said this.

At the same time he glowed with this bit of unexpected praise from his lover, Nowaki searched Hiroki's gaze questioningly. While he wanted to ask what had brought about this unexpected turn of events, he didn't. Choosing instead to remain silent and just enjoy it, Nowaki leaned forward and returned the gesture, gathering Hiroki's fine jaw as well. He kissed his partner deeply.

"I love you, Hiro-san," he murmured when at last he broke the kiss.

Hiroki swept aside Nowaki's sodden, black bangs from his brow. He studied his lover's intense blue gaze. He felt overwhelmed with gratitude for unrequited love, wayward rocket ships, and youth's stubborn persistence: in truth for anything and everything that had played a part in fate bringing him to this moment.

"I love you too, Nowaki," Hiroki growled before initiating a kiss of his own. He was incredibly thankful they were in the shower as the spray of the water camouflaged the tears of desperate joy he felt at having this incredible man in his life.

Sheltered inside his beloved Nowaki, Hiroki felt himself begin to stir again. Feeling this revival, the strength of his kiss increased as Hiroki set about replacing another memory of loss and lack with one of love.

**THE END**

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><p><strong>So that's it. Hope you enjoyed it. Whether or not you did, please consider taking a minute to let me know.<strong>


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